Chapter 218 - Bloodline Activation
Chapter 218 - Bloodline Activation
Draco's body immediately resonated with Eva's transformation. He felt his form shift into that of a Dragonoid. Since the transformation was planned and hadn't been sudden, Draco could distinctly feel the process. and was slowly becoming familiar with it.
It felt like he had connected every thread of his black mass together, congealing it into a pristine network of power and purity. At that moment, he felt like his power had risen to new heights, a level where even the Gods would have to bow before him.
However, the stress from doing so was unbelievably immense. In a matter of milliseconds, Draco had to revert back to his normal form lest he rupture his bloodline and… cripple himself!
That was right, if Draco or Riveting Night dared to overstep their transformation's limits, they would rupture their bloodline source, turning their black/white mass into a waste product.
This was completely different from Draco's bloodline 'crippling'. That had basically been just a seal on his bloodline, preventing him from accessing it. The bloodline itself had been intact and whole, although dormant.
However, the fallout from this would actually cripple it, and restoring it - if even possible - wouldn't be as simple as drinking mountain loads of 1st Grade NuSmoothies.
So both of them had reverted at the last moment, and they looked a bit tired, but not incapacitated. However, they wouldn't dare to assume their General Aspect forms again for the next hour.
As such, Riveting Night thought it wise to shift to something else while they were waiting on their bloodline source to 'cooldown'.
"Apart from the General Aspect, there's the matter of your efficiency. What your Aunt Fyre is taking you through will only really help with just your Serpent God Inheritance, so I'll be the one to teach you how I've attained almost perfect control of my bloodline energy."
Draco nodded. It had to be said that this was the most important aspect of the bloodline training in his opinion. Transforming in the General Aspect and learning Serpent God Inheritance techniques was fine and all, but this was the most crucial.
If Draco could learn to effectively use his bloodline, therefore reducing his wastage to a minimum, he would benefit not just in the game, but in the real world! After all, these techniques and skills were developed to be used in the real world.
The fact that they could be used and therefore trained in-game was a welcome bonus. What's more, Draco was extremely lucky that the Dragon Soul buffed his Draconic techniques, so he was able to barely summon the Black Dragon.
In the real world, he naturally could not do this. The most he could do was to use the Basic Transformation Technique or its Advanced version for a little bit.
The Dragon Soul had effectively acted as a personal trainer, allowing him to use techniques others would need months or years to even get a feeling for.
Or to put it in Boundless' terms, it acted as a passive skill that boosted technique Rank + 1.
Yet, according to Aunt Fyre, he should be able to do the same even without the help of the Dragon Soul, and that was why Riveting Night's section of the guidance was crucial.
Draco was certain that if he could reach her level, and coupled with the Dragon Soul's boost, he could even summon the Black Dragon in the game world permanently using the Ultimate Manifestation Technique.
Having a living Black Dragon by his side that was literally his other half… he would become unstoppable within the next two Ranks. Right now, Draco was only overpowered within his own Rank.
If he had a Black Dragon fighting with him, he could venture out right now to challenge Rank 2 entities! At that point, who in this world could stop him?!
Draco reined in his excitement and listened to Riveting Night's teachings. She first showed him her Goddess of Light Inheritance, which was the equivalent of the Horned Demon Inheritance.
"First, we need to bring the activation of your Inheritance to a reasonable level. A lack of techniques doesn't mean you can't use the Inheritances."
"Everyone can throw a punch, but a technique which requires you to move in certain ways can allow you to throw a punch that can shatter bricks"
"After all, a technique is simply a refined way to use a certain power to its fullest effect, or for a specific effect."
Draco nodded. In truth, his notion of 'activation' was more like his 'awareness'. Basically, Draco's 10% activation of the Horned Demon Inheritance meant that he only knew how to channel 10% of its particular effects.
The same went for the Dark Angel Inheritance which had increased to 7% after suffering through the last day of Richmond's training. That was why Riveting Night was trying to help him activate them further.
It wouldn't compare to gaining the techniques that would allow him to display amazing effects, but it would give him access to their raw power.
Basically, she would help him 'spark' the 'engine'. As for the 'steering wheel' and the 'tires' he would have to get them from the Lineage members through training in techniques.
Riveting Night suddenly burned crazy amounts of bloodline energy and the light energy surrounding her palm like a blade became more vivid and fervent.
"Do you feel that?" She asked calmly.
Draco closed his eyes and made a surprised sound. Through his intimate connection with Riveting Night, he was able to feel the pathways of her bloodline energy moving.
Unlike Loving Aunt, he could feel it without the need for contact, and what he saw surprised him greatly. It was unbelievable how similar their networks were, yet they produced so different results due to the genetics inscribed in their cells.
When he traced those networks with his own body, he felt a heat spring up from within, as feelings of violence, murder, and the urge to defile welled up in him.
The heat from his body felt catastrophic, like he was imprisoned in an oven fated to become a roast. Yet despite the heat, Draco felt power brimming within, and his body became sturdier.
Draco couldn't see that from the outside, he was undergoing great changes. His skin became redder and redder, and two horns slowly grew from his forehead.
Not only that, his eyes became scarlet, with his cornea becoming black. His white hair became black once again, growing out till it reached his waist area.
His size didn't grow surprisingly, rather becoming more compact. Draco had been well-shaped before thanks to his rebuilt body providing him with clearly defined abs and well-drawn muscles.
However, Draco now resembled a gym junkie who performed suicidal workouts every day. There was not a single part of his body left that wasn't defined by tight muscles.
What was truly shocking was that he didn't become a beefcake, which was envious. As such, Draco now looked like a… like Royal Demon. Like a Demon God who descended onto this earth.
He radiated raw power, heat, and negativity. Anyone who came close to him would find their negative emotions going wild. Past hatred they had buried would erupt. Grief and trauma that had seemingly been overcome would surface like fresh blood from a ripped open scab wound.
It was like being around him would send one into the depths of Hell itself. Even as his body went through the final stages of activation and refinement, Draco's mind was elsewhere.
He had come to a blank realm with 9 levels. He was like a God that surveyed all in this realm, although everything was white and seemed fake.
Those nine levels were essentially like 9 square panels of glass that were arranged on top of each other with perfect symmetry.
Each one was a blank slate that looked like it was just waiting to get filled. Without having to request it the Black Dragon relayed all the instinctual bloodline information about this.
"My nine levels of Hell, huh? So, I can bring vanquished souls here to suffer eternal torment, their pain continually feeding me strength and vitality…"
Draco's lips curled up into a grin. "Interesting. Extremely interesting."
People he killed in the real world would be denied a chance to enter the reincarnation cycle. They would be grabbed before they could enter, only that they wouldn't be as lucky as he had been getting thrown him back into the past by some Mad God.
Their souls would enter one of his Hells depending on their sins, suffering eternal damnation and strengthening him in the process.
Draco would become the real Satan, the ruler of Hell, and the Horned Demon of legends. Right now, he knew it would only function in the real world, so he would have to experiment on how it would work in the game.
For example, could he take the souls of NPCs into his Hell? That should be possible, but they weren't real. Just like how anything Eva absorbed with her Abyssal Eye Inheritance could not be regurgitated from the game world to the real world, the same should hold true for him.
However, Draco was forgetting that this was a FIVR world managed by the greatest AI. The moment he recovered from his transformation and returned to his body; he saw a screen before him.
｢System to Player Announcement
Your Royal Demon bloodline has activated further, unlocking the unique passive skill 'Ruler of Nine Hells'.｣
｢Ruler of Nine Hells – Passive skill
Rank: Epic (Evolvable)
Effects:
Passive 1 - Hell's Call: Drag the souls of defeated opponents within your Rank into your Hell for eternal torture.
Note 1: This only affects sapient beings (NPCs)
Note 2: Immortal Spirits can only be placed in Hell for 1 day at Epic Rank (players will be forcibly logged out for the whole duration)
Passive 2 - Hell's Toll: Gain 0.01% permanent increase in stats for every soul captured.
Note 1: Maximum number of souls allowed is 1000 at Epic Rank｣
Draco nodded. Now, he wouldn't have to worry about all that. With the in-game skill, he wouldn't even need to transform into a Royal Demon to use it, as that would definitely alert the Hidden Powers.
Even now, Draco was sure that Dorian Purple and the other demon spies must currently be bewildered beyond belief that a Royal Demon would descend in the material plane without someone warning them. They could naturally sense an aura like that more acutely than anyone else.
However, their thoughts and worries did not factor into Draco's concerns. He was simply happy he had brought his Horned Demon Inheritance's activation to roughly 70%.
Compared to his Serpent God which was at 50% and his Dark Angel which was at 7%, the Horned Demon Inheritance was now the highest of his Inheritances.
Of course, activating the Serpent God would be supremely easy with Loving Aunt's help and he might be able to bring it to 100% by tomorrow or the day after.
Seeing that he was done with the activation process, Riveting Night stopped the wasteful consumption of her bloodline energy and drank an Angel's Kiss potion.
"Next, is the Dark Angel Inheritance. Are you ready Draco?" She asked with a light tone.
Draco smiled at his soulmate and nodded with a gaze of determination. "Do it, Eva."
Riveting Night breathed out lightly and activated her Celestial Maiden inheritance to the maximum. The pathways this followed were far more complex than the Horned Demon or the Goddess of Light Inheritance.
After all, even Lucifer and Amaterasu themselves weren't really sure how their mental and beautification powers worked. They certainly knew it existed and could easily ramp up or tone down the effects, but they had no real clue on its functionality.
This same issue had stumped the Lineages over the years. Even Riveting Night herself could only cover her face with a veil and try to tone it down as best as she could, but she couldn't willingly turn it off and on.
First of all, the Dark Angel, as well as the Celestial Maiden Inheritance, worked similarly but differently.
The Celestial Maiden Inheritance did not seduce, but rather enraptured. Any who gazed upon the women borne of this Inheritance would feel the urge to adore and worship.
Its mental/psychic abilities affected the internal mind slightly and the external mind heavily. Telepathy, mind control, astral projection, channeling, and the like fell under the purview of this Inheritance.
They could also use telekinesis, psychometry, and the like to a smaller degree, but it wasn't as prominent. This was why Riveting Night's Control had been so strong, but followed the beaten path.
The Dark Angel Inheritance though, seduced without enrapturing. It would tempt any living being that was deemed a target by the user and spike their hormones to absurd degrees.
However, its mental/psychic abilities affected the internal mind greatly, and the external mind lightly. Telekinesis, psychometry, apportation, transvection, and telesthesia were part of their repertoire.
As for telepathy, precognition, retrocognition, and the like, they could only use it to a lesser degree.
Telepathy was the ability to read the thoughts of others in real-time.
Mind Control was the ability to influence the mind of another through mental manipulation.
Astral Projection was the ability to send one's consciousness outside their body which may or may not affect the world around them.
Channeling was the ability to use mental energy to commune with spirits or the dead.
Precognition was the ability to see a little bit into the future to warn of danger.
Telekinesis was the second most well-known form of psychic power, which was the ability to move objects with the mind.
Psychometry was a rising field of psychic power, where one would be able to perceive emotions or information by touching a person/object.
Retrocognition was the opposite of precognition, where one could see a little bit into the past.
Apportation was the ability to use psy energy to teleport oneself or objects to a different location.
Transvection was the ability to use mental energy to levitate oneself or even fly.
Finally, Telesthesia was the ability to sense things remotely, which was a much more powerful version of Control, in that it wasn't limited by a 'projection field'.
The Dark Angel and Celestial Maiden Inheritances had their pros and cons, but the two were much more intertwined than the Goddess of Light and the Horned Demon.
As such, Draco was easily able to grasp it and use its pathways to activate his own. The only problem was where the Horned Demon had mostly used the body, the Dark Angel focused on the brain and the neural network.
Draco dared not be impatient and rush things, so he silently and steadily mimicked the same pathways as Riveting Night's Celestial Maiden Inheritance.
Like with the Horned Demon Inheritances transformation, Draco felt a great change, but this one was mostly of his mind.
It felt like his brain had been bathed in swamp mud all this time and was suddenly being cleaned, the swamp mud being filtering into pristine water.
His thoughts sped up and Draco's perception of the world became more literal. Colors became more vivid and the world become more defined.
It was like watching a video in 480p which suddenly calibrated into 4K. The difference was staggering.
However, this only went up to a point and stopped. The 'filtration' halted, leaving the 'mud' as a slightly viscous river water. While it wasn't as great as getting the 'water' pristine, it was a great change.
His view of the world reached '1080P', which wasn't as good as '4K', but it was still greater than initially.
Draco couldn't go any further because this was the limit Riveting Night herself had reached. He was now at about 30%, which was already a great leap from just 7% before.
If Riveting Night's Goddess of Light and Abyssal Eye Inheritances were both at 100%, then her Celestial Maiden was at 30%, just like Draco.
So, in the span of one day, Draco had his Serpent God at 50%, his Horned Demon at 70%, and his Dark Angel at 30%.
Unfortunately, his Dark Angel's activation wasn't as great as the Horned Demon's, so he wasn't able to gain any new skill or technique. Even his body hadn't transformed into that of an angel, as the changes were limited to his mind.
Still, his aura of seduction had grown greatly, almost to the point where he might make his targets froth at the mouth, just like how Riveting Night was able to if she showed her face to others for too long.
If he didn't take care, Draco would need to start wearing a veil, or a mask, just like Riveting Night!
Draco first tested his subjective magic. He tried to partition his mind into two and found that it was done in picoseconds. He could also hold two spells indefinitely, with almost no real strain on his mind.
He even tried to partition his mind into three, and he was able to! He could hold spells like this for about 5 minutes before it was too much. Of course, that was for defensive spells.
Offensive ones could be fired out almost non-stop for about 10 minutes. Of course, this was on the matter of concentration.
His willpower had also greatly increased, something which made Draco incredibly happy about. After all, willpower affected Enchanting and the Cause and Effect Theory, so any improvement there was greatly welcomed.
Draco also tested out his Control and found that he could extend his Void of Perfection out to the same distances as before. However, there was no distinction between passive and active Control, which was insane!
Draco was now bullet, sniper, assassin, and arrow proof. Sneak attacks would never work and he could never be caught off guard unless it was an entity that surpassed his five senses - which had once again been enhanced mind you - so he was overjoyed.
He also belatedly noticed that his Body of Godliness had greatly empowered as a result of his activated Horned Demon Inheritance. Now, he could erupt with force and speed that would leave the average man in the dust.
Of course, thanks to stats, players could already move faster than the eye could follow and battles were like they were played on fast forward.
However, that had nothing to do with Draco's natural boosts. In other words, the speed and strength boost from his stats sacked with the boost from his Body of Godliness.
By the time this was done, the day was just about over. Draco returned to his bedroom with Riveting Night, the duo resting in their room as Draco took out Pair Dadeni.
Due to his focus on Richmond's teachings. He had put aside crafting temporarily. Now that he only had to spend a few days on his bloodline training, he would use his free time to do some miscellaneous crafting. After all, he still had to prepare items for his auction in 68 days.
The day his bloodline training came to an end would be the day he would activate the Epic Magical Engineering Tradeskill!