Now that I had helped Nerida have her breakthrough, the news about it only had to get out and my recruitment would soar.
And just like bad news, good news rarely came alone. Not much Sven returned.
Using the heavenly (steel) arrows he had managed to successfully kill the wyrm. One of the two verdant serpents and a few wolves had been killed in the battle but the others emerged mostly unscathed.
I absorbed the wyrm and immediately felt the qualitative difference between a savage beast with dragon blood and one without. Somehow the dragon species was special even amongst those of the same rank.
Both the wyrm and the verdant serpent were descendants of mythical beasts with highly diluted bloodlines. Both of their ancestors had the potential to advance and be a divine beast. However, despite these similarities in their background, the wyrm was more powerful than the verdant serpent.
This could clearly be seen during this wyrm's death battle. Despite being ambushed by two beings of the same rank and a hunter with a weapon that could easily wound it, the wyrm had managed to kill one of his adversaries.
I would even estimate that if Sven hadn't been there with the heavenly arrows... Let's not think about that.
Anyway, I immediately began to grow three wyrms. Additionally, I proposed a little experiment to Sven. I now had the bloodline of a wyrm and if I could absorb the bloodline of a human, there was a reasonable chance I could also inject it into him.
Hearing that he stood to gain the bloodline of a savage beast Sven immediately agreed. I really couldn't comprehend the thought process of this human. I mentioned repeatedly that there was the risk of death should the experiment fail but he once again accepted without hesitation.
Thus, we began the experiment. I produced a sample of the wyrm bloodline and injected it into Sven using a vine as a tube. The following reaction was violent but did not show the lethality that bloodline assimilation was known for.
Safe to say the lethal part must happen while the blood is in the digestive system. Sven had received the blood directly into his bloodstream where it began to integrate immediately.
Of course, Sven's blood did not appreciate the presence of this foreign substance. The two streams interlocked in battle swirling though his Veins. Through the vine that connected us, I sent a soothing current of magic. The two interlocking bloodstreams were slowly placated and then they seamlessly integrated with each other.
Sven's aura rose rapidly, he had been on the verge of a breakthrough this whole time and now the bottleneck was simply washed away. And it didn't stop there! The bloodline he'd received was roughly equal to someone at the marquess level. All this energy took advantage of the broken bottleneck to push him even further. By the time the energy was exhausted Sven had reached the very peak of the baron magus realm and his body seemed to have improved as well, barely reaching knight fighter.
The outcome of the experiment? Success beyond believe and the possibility to lay the foundation for a force that could shake the world. Sven now had the potential to become a marquess magus without any external help within the next two decades.
'Sven, I will now teach you a spell that can greatly increase your combat prowess. Do not teach it to others, it is attuned to your specific constitution and will only harm them.'
"What spell are you going to teach me?"
'Have you ever met Nerida? When she fights she transforms and her strength increases.'
"I too can use beast mode?"
'So you know of it. Beast mode isn't its real name but that doesn't matter now.'
Teaching Sven was a thing of minutes and soon he transformed. His eyes turned into yellow vertical pupils and his upper body was covered in greenish grey scales. He grew a long but darker tail that could move with great agility.
The only flaw in his transformation was that his limbs had remained the same as before. Not a big surprise seeing as the wyrm was a species that shared similarities with a snake.
As if drawn by instinct, Sven three himself to the ground and pressed his limbs against his main body. Upon contact, his limbs were swallowed by what seemed to be pockets of scales at his sides.
He began to move his body in a snake-like manner and became the mini lookalike of a wyrm. The only thing that allowed me to differentiate him from the real deal was his face that had kept most of its human appearance.
Sven canceled his spell and returned to his human form.
"I've never felt this powerful! It felt like I could easily take on a normal beast."
'You could. Right now, without the spell, you are already stronger than an average beast. After your transformation, you should have the strength of a peak viscount magus. Also, based on the greenish sheen your scales had, your bloodline might even have mutated. You should spend some time adjusting to your new strength.'