414 The Strength of Bloodlines (1/2)

Arran's brow was furrowed in a deep frown as he stared at the four vials that stood on the table before him.

Though the vials were small, they contained priceless treasures — four greater bloodlines, each of which should have a power to rival the Ruiner's and Devourer's bloodlines he already possessed.

That one of these vials also contained a corrupted version of the Hungerer's bloodline was a small matter. Lady Merem had granted him the true version of that bloodline, and as long as he consumed it before the corrupted bloodline could take hold, he would suffer no ill effects.

Instead, he'd merely gain yet another powerful bloodline.

While these five bloodlines should cause his strength to increase with leaps and bounds, they also represented something nearly as important — that he could finally choose to leave the Imperium.

His goal in coming to the Imperium had been twofold. First, he wanted to learn its secrets, and second, he wanted to seize its treasures. At this moment, both those things had been largely achieved.

There were still bloodlines to be had and secrets to be uncovered, of course. He had yet to touch on the Lords' second step into Enlightenment, and he hadn't even begun to learn whatever technique the Imperial Knights used to control their bloodlines.

But if he was forced to flee now, he would no longer consider it a failure. He'd already achieved more than could reasonably be expected, with his strength increasing several times over in just a few short years.

A faint smile crossed his lips when he imagined how Brightblade and Snowcloud would react when they learned of his progress. When he left the Ninth Valley, he'd barely had the strength to defeat a Master in a fair fight. But when he returned, he'd have the strength to defeat even Grandmasters.

Yet fast as his progress had been, he knew that further gains would be slow in coming.

Seizing another bloodline or two might still be possible, but learning the Imperial Knights' techniques or setting another step into Enlightenment would be far more difficult. Those were things that might well take decades.

And by then, the war between the Shadowflame Society and the Imperium would long have started.

Arran let out a small sigh, then turned his attention back to the four vials.

It only took him a moment to decide that he would take the vial with the Titan's bloodline last. He was all but certain that was the one that also contained the corrupted Hungerer's bloodline, as the Titan's bloodline would be best suited to mask its effects.

As for the others, the order in which he took them shouldn't make much of a difference.

He pondered it briefly, then decided to start with the Sage's bloodline. Of the three, that should be the one with the mildest effects.

Arran grimaced as he tasted the liquid. It was a cloyingly sweet wine that utterly failed to mask an aroma of fresh blood, with the two unpleasant flavors instead combining to create a taste so foul it almost made him gag.

Yet despite his revulsion, the grimace lasted only a single breath. Then, as the liquid entered his stomach, his eyes widened when he felt a warm glow spread through his body.

It was a pleasant sensation, albeit one that was even milder than he had expected. While it was stronger than what he'd felt when becoming a citizen of the Imperium, the difference between the two was modest at best. And it certainly came nowhere close to receiving a bloodline from Crassus.

Yet as he sat and waited for the bloodline to take hold, he could tell that it had some small effect on his mind. His mind became slightly clearer, as if he'd stepped outside on a crisp spring morning after a good night's sleep.

That was the extent of it, however. Though he waited for another quarter-hour, no more changes came.

”That's it?” he muttered, a slightly dejected look on his face. While he hadn't expected a miracle, he hadn't expected something as weak as this, either.

The increase in his clarity of mind should help his comprehension, but the difference was small enough that he could not help but be disappointed. Had it not been for the fact that he'd received this bloodline for free, he almost would have thought the church had swindled him.

Still, he spent the next hour fully focusing his Sense on the Natural Essence within his body, carefully observing the minute changes in the paths of its flows.

When he was finally satisfied that he'd observed everything he could — which wasn't much, as the changes were exceedingly small — he immediately moved on to the next vial.

This time, he chose the Master's bloodline. Unlike the Sage's bloodline, this one should have a more formidable effect, giving his body a wholly new power.

Again, he downed the vial's foul liquid in a single gulp, suppressing a scowl as he waited for the bloodline to take hold.

Only a single breath of time passed before he felt it — a chilly sensation that rapidly spread through his body, causing him to shiver violently. Yet although Arran expected the feeling to strengthen further, it faded as quickly as it had come, with the only lasting effect he could Sense another small change to the flows of Natural Essence within his body.

Forehead creased in an uneasy frown, Arran carefully examined himself, quickly finding that his control of Shadow Essence had seen a slight increase. But again, the result left him disappointed.

Although he had no way of testing it here, he was certain that this Master's bloodline would allow him to control just a sliver of the Essence used in any serious magical attack he suffered.

With this small bit of power, he would barely be able to deflect an Adept's attack. As for the attacks of Grandmasters or Archmages, there was no need to even mention those.

Nevertheless, he spent two full hours using his Sense to observe the effects on the flows of Natural Essence within his body, occasionally nodding to himself as he was beginning to recognize the problem.