–

-Absorbing detected bloodlines-

76% Solar Rock Lizard

14% Unidentified Energy – Traces of Earth Elemental power

8% Heavy Scaled Lizard

2% Unidentified Bloodlines

–

Dorian ignored the alert for a moment as he raised one of his clawed arms to his head.

'Ausra, what was that? When I entered my Condensed form, it felt like my entire mindset changed slightly.' He asked, raising the question. He felt at his soul, feeling the cocoon that held William's soul flutter next to his, unchanged.

'…based on the data I have, it is impossible for me to give a perfect answer. Your soul is abnormal.' Ausra replied, unhelpfully.

'Okay, then give me your best guess.' He returned, taking a glance down at the corpse of the Solar Rock Lizard. The stinging pain in his wings began to fade as they slowly started to regenerate. The warm energy he'd taken in from that Golden Fruit seemed to swarm on his injured wing in particular, speeding up the healing process.

'Your soul is abnormal.' Ausra repeated, and then continued, 'When you enter your Condensed state, the power of your body greatly increases, as does the power of your soul. This has allowed you to touch upon the doorstep of Lord Class.'

'However, you have yet to comprehend the laws of the universe, at least not enough to officially enter Lord Class. The process of comprehending hardens your soul, making it stronger and tougher. Powerful enough to endure manipulating the laws of the universe to form an Aura.'

'Despite that, you are forcefully increasing the strength of your body and soul. Therefore, your soul has started to undergo its own hardening and solidification, separate from the normal process.'

He blinked,

'Do other Anomalies experience the same thing?'

'No. They were born with souls sealed anew, washed clean from their past memories and experiences, alongside containing innate Lord or King Class bloodlines. The absolute perfect state of being for comprehending the laws of the universe. By now, most of them will have gained their own understanding of the laws of the universe, a process that, if they kept their previous memories, would normally take decades.'

Dorian sighed. It felt like he was constantly behind in terms of strength when compared to the other members of the Flock. He didn't care that they started stronger than him, but he wanted to have enough power to survive on his own.

'Fine, whatever.' He shrugged. It was what it was. He would deal with it.

Instead, he turned his focus to the bloodline origins of the lizard he'd just absorbed.

'Um… What?' He glanced at one particular point, confused.

'Unidentified Energy – Traces of Earth Elemental power? What is this, Ausra?'

'Approximately 14% of the bloodline within the lizard is composed of a parasitic energy source laced with Earth Elemental power.' Ausra replied.

'Parasitic? In general, explain what this means.' He responded.

'Taking in all possibilities, there is a 98% that this Solar Rock Lizard devoured a natural treasure similar to the Golden Apples you found, but one aspected for the Earth Element. Because the lizard does not have a unique Soul Spell Matrix that is able to break down the fruit and transfer certain aspects of its energy, its body began to mutate.'

'This mutation allowed it to quickly reach the peak of the Grandmaster Class and step into the Pseudo-Lord Class. However, as a result, its mind warped, and it became unreasonably aggressive, defensive of the natural treasure's point of origin.'

'The natural treasure it found was probably related to the two Golden Apples you discovered. When natural treasures form, usually three or four of them will appear in an area at once, condensing from a high concentration of the universal laws, though this process is not entirely understood.'

"Huh." He said aloud, looking down at the corpse of the creature. He hadn't realized it was so dangerous to eat a natural treasure raw. Well, Ausra would have warned him if it was, so it probably was only dangerous for regular creatures. Still. He shook the thoughts from his head.

'Can I make use of this energy?' He asked, curious.

'The energy has been absorbed in the form of units of energy for growth. The Earth Elemental traces, however, mostly dissipated at the creature's death.' Ausra replied coolly.

Dorian pulled up his Growth Status, checking on his numbers.

–

-Giant Myyr Dragon – Growth Stage: (4/4) Elder Giant Myyr Dragon –

Growth Progress – 96,827/0

–

'Awesome!' He'd gained around 22,000 units of energy. This entire expedition so far had net him a grand total of roughly 90,000 units of energy, as well as the other Fire Element Golden Apple and whatever the Life Element energy was doing floating around his body.

He grinned happily, dancing a little jig. He was making progress, and fast progress at that. If he kept this up, he felt like it wouldn't be long till he could travel freely and unrestrained.

.. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..

"Do. Not. Move." Rathven motioned quietly, whispering to the rest of his men.

After the cataclysmic battle had ended and the dust had settled, Rathven and his Hunters had mostly collapsed, knocked over by debris or the energy explosions of the fight. Several of them were injured, but all lay deathly still in terror, not daring to move.

The Solar Rock Lizard had, unexpectedly, perished. This was, alone, reason for rejoicing. The creature was unreasonably aggressive, and its death meant that the Overbal Canyon would become a much safer place.

The beast that had killed it, however, was that ferocious dragon. Rathven had only managed to make out part of the fight, the dust storm raised blocking most it from his vision, but the sheer might the beast displayed was enough to convince him not to make a move.

His Hell Lance lay slumped in his hand while he sat on the ground, the still recovering Aina kneeling next to him.

The huge, green scaled dragon stood in front of them, just a hundred or so meters, its hulking form looking down at the corpse of the black-scaled Solar Rock Lizard.

Rumbling noises began to shake the air as the dragon began to move in odd, twisting motions. Rathven blinked at its movements, not understanding them.

"What… what the hell is it doing?!" Harmen's panicked voice echoed in Rathven's ear as the Fate Wizard whispered loudly.

"I…" Rathven stared at it, at a loss for words.

.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..

"Got the energyyy, got the bloooodlinnneeees."

"Time to go get some get foood, and have a good tiiime." Dorian hummed cheerfully in English as he began walking towards Potor City, smiling cheerfully.

Today's mission had been a decided success. He was ready to go eat something tasty and rest, Evolving a new bloodline while he slept.

He took a few deep steps and spun around as he walked, throwing in a couple body rolls. It had been a while since he got to dance, and today's victory had set him in a perfect mood for it.

Dancing in his large, Giant Myyr Dragon form wasn't as hard as he'd thought it would be. His increased body control and strength made the movements quite easy.

.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..

"Oh my g-god. It must be a Demon Dragon. This must be some evil ri-ritual." Harmen's voice shook with fear and despair as he looked at the monstrous figure of the green dragon, its body contorting in odd, peculiar motions. Strange sounds emitted from its mouth, incomprehensible and foreign.

"We're all go-going to die." Harmen shifted to his knees, bowing his body down as he began to cry quietly.

"Sh-shattered Hea-Heavens above p-p-please sp-spare me from the v-vile h-hell you have thrown upon us."

"Shut up!" Rathven leaned over and smacked the Fate Wizard in the side of his chin, attempting to knock some sense into him. The innate barrier the Wizard had absorbed most of the blow, but his punch got through enough to shock the Wizard.

Unfortunately, the damage was already done.

The Fate Wizard's begging had caught the attention of the green-scaled dragon.

.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..

'Oh?' Dorian thought, pausing in his dancing as he looked off to the side.

'That's right, those humanoids.' The group of warriors and a few Wizards that had attacked him earlier were lying on the ground to his side, mostly in shambles. Several of them were clearly badly injured, and the group as a whole looked pretty sad.

Dorian bared his teeth at them. They had tried to attack him, after all. That said, they did lead him to the Golden Apples, and the Solar Rock Lizard, so he couldn't be too angry.

He snorted and gave them a disdainful glance before continuing on his way to Potor City, shamelessly continuing to practice dancing in his new, much larger draconic form, ignoring them.

.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..

"W-we are spared!" Harmen shouted victoriously several minutes after the dragon had gone out of eyesight. The rest of the Hunter crew seemed to feel similarly, rejoicing in keeping their lives.

Rathven wiped a sheen of sweat from his forehead, his entire body shivering as he relaxed. The tension and fear he'd experienced in the past few minutes had been horrifying. He'd never felt so helpless in his life.

"Quiet." He motioned with his arms, calling the Hunters to attention. Several of them began to work on treating the injured, getting them medicine and helping carry them.

"We're leaving. We must report this to the Palace Master."

.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..

Hours passed, and Dorian eventually found himself standing next to the side of the plateau that held Potor City, far above.

He had returned to his human form, pulling out a set of clothes from the Spatial Ring he'd looped onto his draconic form. His eyes were spirited as he looked at the crowd near him.

There were thousands of people milling about. Several huge mines were just a few dozen miles from here, and the transport of people and goods up and down the massive plateau was constantly ongoing.

"Wind Magic Platform rides up to Potor, only 25 silver mints per individual, custom rates for larger groups!"

"Custom large-scale transport of large corpses, anywhere within 50 miles, only 30 silver mints per hundred pounds!"

"Take the safest walking path to the top, the Minyo Carved Stone Path, only 1 silver mint a head!"

Several Wizards or traveling companies advertised their services, catering to the groups of warriors that traveled out to hunt for rare beasts or magic herbs, and the many miners that worked in the local mines. The daylight was starting to dim slightly down here, being replaced by some type of ever-present glow from the misty fog above them. It seemed it was never truly dark in the oceans of nothingness.

Dorian could make out hundreds of buildings set into the stone wall, built up along several stone pathways. He saw restaurants, blacksmiths, and even a few small inns and many personal residences. It seemed some people preferred to live down here, in the dangerous recesses of the world, rather than the plateau above.

He looked at them all and then shrugged, withdrawing the Cloud in a Bottle artifact he'd purchased. He activated it, drawing upon one of the small, fluffy white clouds.

Immediately his body began to rise up, floating above the people and shops below. He saw a few curious eyes glance up at him before returning downward, going about their day.

He fell through the air, passing the heavy mist layer of the underground, and breaking through to the fading afternoon light of the world above.

"Ahhh." He took a deep breath. The air below the fog layer was somewhat earthy, as if he was in a cave. When he came up here, to the open world, the air had a fresh, natural scent.

He nodded his head sharply as he flew all the way up the plateau, landing on the edge. He saw a few people off to the side, just now starting to descend.

He ignored them as he began walking towards the city, ready to fill his stomach.

.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..

'So Ausra, when the other Flock-members absorb bloodlines, do they still transform like me?' Dorian asked as he settled into his Inn bedroom.

It was around an hour later. He'd picked out and eaten an entire roast pig at one of the more well-known restaurants in the city, a place called the Roasted Spoon. The delicious meat had been mouth-watering and tasted every bit as good as they advertised. It was served with a side of roasted potatoes and greens, and was the best food he'd eaten yet.

After that, he'd decided to head back to his inn. Tomorrow, he decided he would hit up the local Magic Shops to get the basic reading material he would need to start his study of magic.

'Correct. Though they have a main bloodline, their soul still needs to adapt to the new form. It is only when they try to combine bloodlines that they must go through a slow process of assimilation.'

'Without a Soul Spell Matrix Genie like myself, the calculations and biometric data handling needed to successfully combine bloodlines like you do would be impossible. They must slowly combine the bloodlines through a natural process that adapts certain aspects into their own.' Ausra replied.

Dorian frowned, rubbing his chin.

'Why wouldn't the Godking give everyone a genie, then? Doesn't he want to make the perfect being? You'd figure that would help.'

'It, technically, should be impossible for your soul to bear the strain of housing my construct. Soul Spell Matrix Genies are not a common thing to create or see, even on Angelic Class beings. Anyone below the Angelic Class should experience a massive amount of pressure and have their soul dissipate.' Ausra continued,

'Your soul is an abnormality, though perhaps this might explain why you still maintain your previous life's memories.'

'I see.' Dorian replied, nodding his head. He didn't, actually, see, but he knew Ausra wouldn't be able to explain even if he asked.

'Alright, well. Let's take a look at my bloodlines now. Ausra pull up all the unused Grandmaster Class ones.' With an excess of 90,000 points of energy to spend, Dorian could afford to splurge, and add a powerful new creature to his repertoire.

–

Stored Bloodlines

–

Grandmaster Class

–

Solar Rock Lizard (Pseudo-Lord)

Virulent Wolf – – – – – True Vampire

Black Ambian Eagle – – – – – Midnight Bladetiger

Ester Ground Dragon – – – – – Giant Bore Snake

Tayzon Rhino – – – – – Heavy Scaled Lizard

–

'Hmm?' He noted the Solar Rock Lizard's designation.

'The Pseudo-Lord Class is technically still designated as part of the Grandmaster Class and not a unique class in its own right. It is more of a level between the Grandmaster and Lord Class.' Ausra answered his question without him even having to ask it.

Dorian looked over the list, his eyes glinting. He either went with the Master Class Fire Elemental Imp, to gain a better insight into Fire Magic, or he went with one of these bloodlines to increase his strength.

'Which to choose…' He muttered, his eyes gleaming.

.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..

Many miles away from Dorian, a small plateau rose from the oceans of nothingness, ending in a dismal, hundred meter stone platform barren of any wildlife or vegetation. Several long cracks ran through the top of this pillar, sunlight beating down on top of it.

Upon this plateau, two figures could be seen.

"It's left the hole, Probus. I'll send word to Helena. She's near the World Bridge to Hasnorth." A vampire wearing a set of loose black robes, with a smart-looking black belt wrapped around him, spoke aloud, his voice calm and confident. A wand could be seen strapped to this belt, in a small holster, gleaming with a silver light. He was currently looking down over the stone platform, at the fog-enshrouded ocean of nothingness below.

"Good." A black plate armored warrior replied to Trajan, his long brown hair was tied up in a bun and blowing slightly as a breeze swept past them.

"My sword longs for the taste of blood." His eyes flashed, a dark, mysterious light in them as he held up his long, gleaming blade, admiring it in his hands.

Trajan turned to glance at the warrior askance,

"What? How can your sword long for the taste of blood? It's just a sword."

Probus looked up from his blade to stare at the Wizard as Trajan continued,

"Is your sword a vampire too, eh? You could call yourself the vampire swordmaster with a vampire sword. Got a nice ring to it."

"It's a metaphor, Trajan." Probus glared at him.

"You just said it because it sounds good, admit it." Trajan responded by giving him a cheeky grin.

Probus returned back to looking at his sword lovingly as he hooked it onto his back. He then began scanning the sky, as if looking for something.

"I think I've got you figured out Probus. That's what you get fo-" Trajan cut himself off, the grin wiping from his face as he glared at his fellow vampire,

"What are you doing right now, Probus?"

"I'm just standing here. Is that against Family Law now?" The vampire warrior continued to look around the sky, his eyes darting to and fro.

"…"

"So you're not looking for innocent local wildlife to slaughter?" Trajan's words contained a biting edge.

Probus paused, his eyes wavering for a split second.

"No, of course not."

"Good because I-" Trajan began,

"I would never kill anything innocent." Probus continued, his eyes zeroing in on a distant black speck.

"Yes, that is why I aske-" Trajan responded,

"But if it was an evil, slimy, scaled creature…" Probus went on, his arm drawing back and grasping firmly onto the hilt of his blade.

"Of course that's reasona-wait no! That isn't norm-"

WHOOSH

A dozen miles away, a large, Master Class White Tailed Eagle fell from the sky, split into two.

"WHYYYY PROBUS! "

"THAT WAS A BIRD! IT DIDN'T EVEN HAVE SCALES!"

.

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