As the night went on, instead of the usual cold winds, it was hot, making the climb even more difficult. Not to mention, Kyle's whole body was aching like crazy!
After putting in so much effort and finding nothing, he felt a little disappointed. But just as he was about to give up and turn back, he spotted a small white flower in the distance.
The moment Kyle saw the flower, he paused and rubbed his eyes. He couldn't contain his excitement and shouted before running towards the glowing flower, which was visible even in the dark.
"It's the red snow flower!"
The red snow flower was emitting a cold aura in the midst of such a hot place. Kyle approached it with excitement and quickly picked it from its spot. He wanted to search for more, but when he turned around, he found himself standing in front of a cave.
The cave was hidden under rocks, which is why he hadn't noticed it before.
As he gazed into the darkness of the cave, he noticed a faint glow emanating from the far end. It was there that he caught sight of several white flowers, their gentle radiance illuminating the depths of the cave. However, Kyle realized that he was already at the top of the mountain, which meant the cave in front of him might very well be home to some high-rank monsters.
He had no plans to enter the cave, but then he glanced at the small flower in his hand.
"According to the book I found in the library, it says that a single flower has the power to awaken a bloodline. However, in certain situations, more than one flower might be required."
He wanted to go inside but thinking about the possibility of a monster suddenly pouncing at him he was hesitant. It's not because he was scared, it's because he knew he was not some kind of genius who would emerge victorious even after fighting someone higher rank than himself. Nor was he some kind of protagonist inside a story who will fight a life and death battle only to win in the end. That's why risking his life was out of the question.
'Instead of going inside and taking the risk, I should eat this flower first. If it works then good. If not then I can go inside quietly to grab the other flowers.'
Kyle threw the flower petals inside his mouth before sitting cross-legged.
Based on the information he read, after he ate the flower he would feel extreme pain inside his body. He waited for something to happen inside his body as described in the book. But no matter how much he waited he didn't feel pain nor any change within his body.
After waiting for almost half an hour, he took a deep breath and nervously looked at his stats from the corner of his eyes.
______
Stats:
Name: Kyle
Bloodline: Celestial (Locked)
Rank: F-
Strength: G
Mana: F
Agility: G
Talent: B Rank (suppressed)
Luck: A
Skills:
#*Fireball (F)-Rank:
User can use mana to create a small fireball. The more mana used the bigger the size of the fireball.
#*Ice Dragon inherited skill; Ice Domain (S)-Rank:
User can call upon a Domain in a specific area, locking and freezing the area.
Inside the Domain;
All stats of the user will increase by a sub-rank, water type and ice type attacks would be ineffective against the user, enemies will have all their stats reduced by a sub-rank.
To use this skill at least (C-)-Rank mana is required.
________
However, to his dismay, nothing changed; all his stats remained the same as before. His sweat-soaked clothes made him uncomfortable, but he gathered the courage to stand up and squint his eyes to peer into the cave.
"What am I doing? I can't see anyone inside. Maybe it's just an empty cave."
Honestly, he wished it was just an empty cave. If there were monsters inside, why didn't they eat the flowers and leave them for display?
After scanning the surroundings for a while, Kyle decided to venture into the cave. He took out some mana stones to illuminate his path and cautiously approached the radiant flower at the far end of the cave.
From the outside, it appeared to be an ordinary cave, but as he stepped inside, he discovered it was much deeper and adorned with various colorful stones.
Apart from the glowing red snow flower in the distance, there were numerous valuable herbs scattered on the ground. Kyle felt tempted to pick them up, but he decided against it when he noticed bloodstains on some broken rocks.
The state of the cave suggested that a recent battle had taken place there. Kyle's heart raced with anticipation, and though he could hear it pounding in his chest, he felt more excited than scared. As he approached the flowers, he took extra care to minimize any noise.
But then, out of nowhere, he heard a barely audible voice coming from his left side. He was certain that the voice didn't belong to his pounding heart! Summoning all his courage, he slowly turned his head to see where the voice was coming from.
"A.. Phoe..nix...?"