The power born from his own blood essence and his soul were merging like milk and water, nourishing its rapid growth — yet Lucian's skin had begun to turn ashen and withered, resembling both a mummy buried deep in a tomb for years and a withering desert poplar on the Gobi, the very picture of a man on the brink of death.
Lucian's legs went weak, his muscles slackened, his heartbeat slowed, and his thoughts and the workings of his soul seemed to drift apart — one sluggish and hazy, the other standing aloof and lucidly clear.
This starkly contradictory sensation was so inexplicable, so uncanny, as though the Meditation environment had descended into the real world.
Just as Lucian's soul power had grown to a certain threshold and his bloodline power was nearly spent, just as he believed his body would simply rot away, a strange trickle of power seeped in from where Rhein's fangs had pierced his neck. The soul's strengthening and the intangible transformation halted immediately. The residual dregs of bloodline power, stimulated by that strange energy, began to recover — dividing rapidly, proliferating wildly, flowing once more through his veins.
Lucian's skin gradually lost its ashen pallor, regaining its tautness and luster, while his muscles packed within them an explosive potential for force. His heartbeat, though still slow, became tremendously powerful, and his mind grew sharp and swift.
A faint sensation of numbness returned, and Rhein's fangs withdrew from Lucian's neck.
His body seemed far more translucent now, his silver eyes tinged with a trace of fatigue, though his smile remained elegant and gracious. "A noble gentleman never begrudges the price of his services."
The restraints on Lucian's body vanished, and he regained full mobility. After carefully examining his condition, he remarked with mild surprise, "My soul has reached the level of a Fourth-Circle mage, and my body has attained the standard of a Second-level Knight… Mr. Rhein, are you all right?" Seeing Rhein sway unsteadily as his enormous black bat wings began to retract, Lucian asked with concern.
"In truth, there are many arcane rituals that can directly elevate one's soul and spiritual power. The ancient heritage mages were particularly fond of this approach. However, this method has two problems. First, the materials and items required are quite expensive — unless you've had a great windfall from an expedition or have been saving for years, very few mages can afford them. Moreover, if you converted the money spent into Arcane Magic potions, you'd find that half or even a third of that cost would be enough to meet your advancement requirements. Those who truly need similar arcane rituals are mages whose advancement is exceptionally difficult, or those who must temporarily boost their strength for various urgent reasons."
Rhein seemed to understand Lucian's surprise and worry, and explained in detail. "The second problem is the side effects are considerable. Some stem from the materials — gemstones, magical creature blood, and so forth — used to convert into soul nourishment, which can negatively affect the soul. Others involve one's understanding of magic being unable to match one's magical rank. These all need to be gradually remedied and purged. If they cannot be remedied, in the worst case, every future advancement will depend on similar arcane rituals, and one's personality may even become distorted."
"As for you, Lucian, you have neither of these two problems, because this is a small advance payment I prepared for you beforehand. What was consumed was my Blood Origin, while the nourishment that strengthened your soul came from your own bloodline power. There will be no other negative effects. Furthermore, your bloodline power belongs to Moonlight and shares many commonalities with vampiric power, which is why it could be stimulated and enhanced by my Blood Origin."
"However, the further one walks the path of a knight, the more it depends on the mastery of willpower. Unless you're willing to abandon your Arcane research and devote yourself entirely to the knight's path, you won't be able to become a Great Knight. Of course, you could also do what some mages do — use magic and biological materials to directly modify your body, gaining grotesque, disgusting, yet formidable abilities and an extended lifespan. That was one of their original purposes in merging different bloodlines using ordinary people."
"The problem of one's understanding of Arcane Magic being unable to match one's magical rank might be troublesome for others, but I imagine you, a Holm Crown Award recipient, should be able to resolve it with ease." Rhein cast a teasing glance at the "Elements" ring on Lucian's right hand.
Lucian nodded slightly, dispelling the worry he had harbored within. After another week or two, once he had fully mastered the spiritual power that came with his strengthened soul, he could attempt a breakthrough to the Fourth Circle — two full years ahead of schedule.
"Mr. Rhein, once I become a high-ranking mage, I'll activate the arrangements you left behind. But I'm afraid I don't yet know which locations they are?" Lucian asked with a jesting tone, now relaxed.
Rhein pointed at Lucian's neck. "That's why I left a mark. Through it, I can project myself into your dreamscape to communicate with you. Of course, you can use your spiritual power to block this projection — I can only enter with your permission. Oh, and you can also use this mark to summon me in reverse, projecting me into your dreamscape."
At Rhein's words, Lucian quickly sent his spiritual power probing carefully and indeed discovered a faint, blood-red crescent-shaped mark where he had been bitten on his neck — inconspicuous, like a small birthmark.
Lucian chuckled softly. "It seems you truly don't want me learning your other secrets too early, Mr. Rhein."
"If you really want to know, Lucian, you can go to the Arcane Library of the Magic Council and exchange for the relevant Church history records. They're all the most ordinary parts, but if you cross-reference them, you'll discover some interesting things. The most common accounts may conceal the most terrifying secrets." Rhein gave a light laugh, then pressed his right hand to his chest and performed an elegant bow of departure. "The power of projection has always been rejected by the Netherworld, and I've consumed my Blood Origin, so I can no longer sustain myself here. Please allow me to take my leave early."
No sooner had his words fallen than his body suddenly disintegrated, dissolving into countless black bats that scattered like phantoms in every direction, melting away into the hall.
The silver receded, the red faded, the voice vanished, the breeze stilled — everything returned to how it had been before the Netherworld, eternal black, white, and grey, eternal silence and oppression.
"That scene just now really was like the release of peace doves in a plaza," Lucian murmured with a smile, "except the white doves were replaced by black bats." But no sound emerged from his mouth when he spoke; his ears held only unending silence.
After surveying the hall once more, Lucian turned his gaze to Ivanovsky's corpse. He had been a formidable opponent — the "Interference" bloodline truly lived up to its reputation as one of the orthodox mage-hunter lineages. If he hadn't been of comparable rank to Lucian, and if he had possessed powerful magical items, the narrow combat environment would likely have forced Lucian to flee instead.
Moreover, had Ivanovsky not let his guard down after entering the Netherworld — failing to anticipate that Lucian could also sense the rift to the Netherworld and enter it — killing this Holy Knight, whose speed and agility were by no means lacking, would not have been a simple matter.
Ivanovsky's full suit of armor had been thoroughly destroyed under "Gaston's Toxic Miasma" and "Elemental Order," so Lucian simply selected a few of the more intact metal fragments and stored them in his pouch — they might serve as materials for other alchemical items down the road.