Chapter 97: Chapter 97 : Terrifying growth

[Present]

[Host… where is that girl, Olivia?]

The system’s voice echoed inside Arthur’s mind.

Arthur froze.

His eyes snapped open.

“…Crap,” he cursed. “I almost forgot about her!”

He forced himself up, ignoring the soreness weighing down his body, and frantically scanned the ruined arena.

Empty.

No sign of Olivia anywhere.

Only the bindings that had been used to restrain her lay on the ground—cut and discarded, as if mocking him.

“Fuck,” Arthur muttered. “She escaped in all this commotion.”

He scanned the surroundings again.

Something else was missing.

Jericho’s corpse.

It was gone too.

Before he could process that, the system spoke again.

[We encountered five system users, and you weren’t able to absorb even one of them. Just how useless are you, Host?]

Arthur’s mouth twitched.

“Sure, I got careless,” he shot back, “but you’re just as guilty as I am, okay?”

[Can you please explain, dear Host?]

Arthur rolled his eyes.

“Just know that you are. I don’t need to explain myself.”

He gestured vaguely at the empty, blood-soaked colosseum.

“It’s also the fault of all these damn vampires. Because of these leeches, my prey escaped.”

[Yeah… yeah.]

“What’s with that tone?” Arthur snapped.

[Nothing. I was just admiring what an incredible Host I have.]

“I know that’s sarcasm,” Arthur said, “but I’ll take the praise.”

He exhaled and flopped back down, letting his tired muscles relax for a moment.

“Now,” he said, “can you show me what other incredible abilities we unlocked? There’s nothing else to do here anyway.”

The system obliged.

Notifications began appearing one after another in front of him.

[1,068,040 Experience points obtained]

[Bloodline Skills Obtained]

Windows popped up, lining his vision.

[New Skill Acquired: Vampiric Vision]

[Rank: S]

[Type: Passive – Sensory]

[Description: Allows perception of blood flow, emotional states, and micro-expressions with supernatural clarity. The user can read muscle twitches, heartbeat variations, and the smallest shifts in gaze. Lies, hesitation, fear, and killing intent become painfully obvious.]

[New Skill Acquired: Hunger]

[Rank: SS]

[Type: Passive / Active – Progenitor Instinct]

[Description:

Passively, continuously converts consumed blood into power. All stats increase based on the purity and strength of the blood, with stronger sources granting greater boosts.

Actively, the user may trigger a temporary “Feast State,” drastically accelerating blood-to-power conversion for a short duration and sharpening predatory instincts.

At times, an overwhelming hunger may surface, driving the user into a near-instinctual state with reduced control.]

[New Skill Acquired: Wrath of the Blood God]

[Rank: SS]

[Type: Active – Catastrophic Amplification]

[Description:

By sacrificing a massive amount of blood (own or gathered), the user may enter a state of apocalyptic rage. For a limited time, physical power, speed, regeneration, and bloodline authority are pushed far beyond normal limits.

In this state, every attack leaves behind lingering blood corruption that weakens enemies and may cause their blood to rebel against them.

Side effects: After use, the user suffers severe backlash—extreme exhaustion, temporary stat reduction, and increased instability of Hunger. Excessive use may damage the user’s sanity.]

[New Skill Acquired: Blood Domain]

[Rank: SSS]

[Type: Active – Sovereign Domain]

[Description: When activated, create a domain where the user’s Blood Monarch lineage is absolute. Within this domain, all vampires and lesser bloodlines experience forced suppression of stats, reduced skill efficiency, and instinctive fear.

The user’s regeneration, strength, and skill potency are greatly enhanced. The longer the domain persists, the more it erodes enemy will and sanity. Within Blood Domain, Blood Dominion, Fear, and Hunger gain increased effectiveness.]

[New Skill Acquired: Fear]

[Rank: A]

[Type: Passive / Active]

[Description:

Passively, your very presence instills primal fear in weaker beings and lower bloodlines.

When activated, this fear intensifies into a focused aura, slowing enemy reactions, disrupting focus, and greatly increasing the chance of mistakes, retreat, or surrender.]

Arthur’s jaw slowly dropped as he read through each window.

“This is all… just from a single pure bloodline,” he whispered.

He knew exactly how rare these ranks were.

Skills above S-rank were treasures entire guilds would kill for. People spent billions at auctions just to obtain a single S-rank skill.

And here he was—

Staring at a list of them.

SS rank.

Even SSS rank.

Things that were almost impossible to acquire under normal circumstances.

If people saw how many he had just gained in one go, the world would go insane.

Arthur grinned.

“I love my bloodline,” he said. “It’s the greatest ever.”

He stretched his sore arms once more.

“Now,” he added, his eyes gleaming with curiosity, “show me my status window.”

The status window unfolded in front of Arthur like a holographic curtain.

════════════════════════════

[ STATUS ]

════════════════════════════

Name : Arthur

Race : Vampire–Human Hybrid (NEW)

Class : Blood Monarch (NEW)

Rank : C (NEW)

Potential : B

Level : 255

EXP : 818,040 / 1,000,000

(Note: EXP required to break through to B-Rank.)

────────────────────────────

[ TALENTS ]

────────────────────────────

• Imperfect Imitation (F-Rank)

• Crown of Sorcery (A-Rank) (NEW)

────────────────────────────

[ BODY CONSTITUTIONS ]

────────────────────────────

• Infinite Harmony Constitution (NEW)

────────────────────────────

[ ATTRIBUTES ]

────────────────────────────

Strength : 254 → 354

Agility : 265 → 365

Durability : 255 → 355

Intelligence : 272 → 372

Will : 220 → 320

Vitality : 1000 (NEW)

Charm : 110 (-20)

Luck : 34 → 54

────────────────────────────

Attribute Points : 0

────────────────────────────

[ INNATE ABILITIES ]

• Photographic Memory

• Boxing

────────────────────────────

[ BLOODLINE ]

────────────────────────────

• Origin King Bloodline (PROGENITOR) [PRIMARY]

• Blood Monarch (PROGENITOR) [SECONDARY] (NEW)

[Scroll ▼] View Bloodline Information

────────────────────────────

[ TRAITS ]

────────────────────────────

• Blood Absorption

• Bloodline Extraction

• Bloodline Assimilation

• Daywalker (NEW)

• Blood Control (NEW)

• Blood Consumption (NEW)

────────────────────────────

[ SKILLS ]

────────────────────────────

• Omnicognition (S-Rank)

• Language (S-Rank)

• Berserk (A-Rank)

• Blink (B-Rank)

• Shadow Veil (B-Rank)

• Echo Step (C-Rank)

• Vampiric Vision (S-Rank) (NEW)

• Hunger (SS-Rank) (NEW)

• Wrath of the Blood God (SS-Rank) (NEW)

• Blood Domain (SSS-Rank) (NEW)

• Fear (A-Rank) (NEW)

────────────────────────────

[ SYSTEMS CONQUERED ]

────────────────────────────

Absolute Choice System : DEVOURED

Status : Fully Integrated

Authority : Suppressed & Subjugated

Condition : Awaiting Host Command

(Note: All core functions successfully overwritten.

No residual resistance detected.)

════════════════════════════

Remark:

Quite the arsenal.

Let’s see if you can survive using it—

before it starts using you instead.

════════════════════════════

Arthur’s grin widened even more as he read through the window.

“I know I said this before,” he muttered, “but I’ll say it again—there is nothing more satisfying than seeing your own growth.”

[Would’ve been better if I was able to see my growth too.]

[Ohhh, how I wish I had a better Host.]

“Will you please let that go already?” Arthur snapped. “Okay, I know you’re mad that you didn’t get to eat anything. But you saw what happened. I was helpless, okay?”

He sighed deeply.

“Just give me a break, man.”

[Alright, fine. I’ll let it go.]

“That’s the spirit,” Arthur said.

“Now show me what this Vitality stat is all about. It’s quite high, after all.”

Arthur stared at the floating panel in front of him as the glowing text slowly formed.

—

[Vitality — The sacred measure of one’s life force, stamina, and “lasting power” in every sense (even in bed). High Vitality means you can go all night—whether fighting foes or… other battles of endurance. Low Vitality, however, leads to a swift retreat and awkward silence afterward.]

For a moment, there was complete silence.

Then his mouth twitched.

“…I am definitely unlocking some weird things…”

He leaned closer, rereading that particular line. His brow furrowed, then lifted slightly in disbelief.

“’Lasting power in every sense… even in bed’? Who even wrote this system?”

[Please don’t ask me anything right now.]

Arthur let out a quiet breath, rubbing the back of his neck as if trying to physically shake off the implication.

He glanced down at his stats.

Then back at Vitality.

A longer pause this time.

“…But…”

Another glance.

“…just in case.”

He straightened slightly, giving a small nod to himself.

“…I’ll increase it later.”

A beat.

“I definitely will. Yeah—no regrets.”

Suddenly, the system spoke again.

[I don’t think we should stay here any longer. The Night Sanctuary has collapsed, and the smell of blood here will definitely attract monsters.]

Arthur glanced around.

Blood and torn flesh were everywhere.

His senses, sharpened by his new bloodline, picked up distant howls echoing across the barren landscape.

“You’re right,” he said quietly. “Let’s get out of this place. I’m getting the creeps already.”

He left the ruined colosseum behind—

A place that had once been one of the most feared territories in the Null Realm.

Soon, news of its fall would cause a storm.

Stepping outside, Arthur looked over the barren land stretching in all directions—cracked earth, twisted rock formations, and a sky that looked more like a bruise than a color.

“Now, how do we get back to our world…?” he wondered aloud. “Or should I try to obtain some more bloodlines?”

[Just think before you act,] the system replied. [To get bloodlines like this, you’d have to defeat another pureblood with more than 90% purity.]

[We were lucky in Elizabeth’s case—she wasn’t using her full strength at the start. Do you really want to fight another pureblood right now?]

Arthur swallowed.

“On second thought,” he said, “let’s get back.”

The very next moment—

His senses screamed.

His hand shot up on reflex.

He caught an arrow just as it was about to pierce straight through his head, the shaft quivering between his fingers.

His eyes narrowed dangerously as he turned toward the figures approaching from the distance.

’Already…?’ he thought.

’Who the hell are these guys?’

His eyes widened.

’Wait a minute… they’re humans.’

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