Andrew stormed out of Existential Hall as he headed straight towards Meditation Zone.
He decided to go all out with his meditation since it was the only known available solution in his hands. He was intent on diving deeper into mana.
In the books that Andrew had read before, it was said that there are 5 stages of meditation:
Shallow Immersion - a person can still feel the physical world.
Slight Immersion - the stage in which an individual just touches upon the surface of the connection between the mind's eye and mana.
Deep Immersion - is typically a stage where majority of living beings enter to comprehend mana.
Absolute Immersion - it is extremely hard to return from this state once an individual dives too deep into comprehending the surrounding mana.
It's said that most of the time they get lost in the nothingness and even if they return they become vegetables for the rest of their lives as it's believed that their actual consciousnesses are forever lost.
Unfortunately, Andrew had no other known option as he already had inquired from others, typically such problems had no solution when the mind's eye was damaged, but he had a healthy mind's eye! He even confirmed that his mana affinity was average!
The only choice left was to immerse himself in nothingness, even if there is a high chance that he might lose himself.
Andrew entered the Meditation Zone with steeled resolve.
And when he was about to start using a specific breathing technique a hand appeared on his shoulder...
Andrew didn't even notice someone approach him!
'A mage!' Andrew exclaimed in his mind as he didn't make any irrational moves.
He cautiously turned around as he saw a masked person. The mask was featureless and the person's build was average, so he couldnt really distinguish the gender. Their hand was covered in a glove which added even more mystery to this persona.
Andrew looked at this person with confusion as he didn't know their intentions since it seemed like they meant no harm.
"Don't be reckless, child" they uttered with an androgynous voice as it was infused with elderly advice.
Andrew's brows furrowed...
'There is actually a carrying person in this hell pot?' Andrew was surprised since he met zero characters like this person for 10 years in such hellishly cold and competitive place.
"Don't do it, you will only kill yourself" the person stated as the next moment a small box appeared in their hand.
Even if the box was closed, it felt suffocating to be near it. It gave off deathly vibes as the air around it distorted.
"I'm greatly interested in your potential, child" the person said as they extended the box towards Andrew.
Andrew was cautious since he didn't feel like this person was sincere enough.
The masked person noticed his hesitation and straight up said:
"I'm ONLY interested in your potential as a mage and if you meet my expectations I expect you to join my faction in exchange for this precious magical material that will help your predicament" the masked person clearly stated their intentions without further ado.
Andrew was puzzled, wasn't he already in one of the top factions - Blood Devil Corps? He wondered if it would require him to leave Blood Devil Corps but the only way to leave it was through death...
As if reading Andrew's mind the person spoke.
"Don't worry, I only want you to join my personal faction, you will do some errands from time to time and share some loot from the missions in exchange for this opportunity to shatter the restrictions that were imposed on you" this mysterious individual seemed intent on curbing favor of the potential genius since this person had personally seen Andrew's recent achievements.
"Do you know what kind of restriction I have?" Andrew asked as he saw the person nod.
"Damaged mind's eye and low affinity are some of the reasons that might affect you, but after you visited Existential Hall, I was sure that you are a special case. The reason why you can't seem to step on the path of comprehending and understanding mana is most likely due to the fact that you possess a powerful bloodline" the person explained as Andrew went into deep contemplation.
'This sounds plausible, my biological mother was an Intermediate Greater Mage when I was conceived since if she advanced further the fetus would have been just destroyed due to the transformation of the entire body and my biological father should be at least as strong as my biological mother or even more powerful since he managed to win her over. It's either a problem from my mother's or father's lineage.
I can't be sure whose lineage's fault exactly it is since I don't know the details of their bloodlines as magical families with rich and powerful legacies keep their secrets to themselves. Moreover, I couldn't get to know Clara's bloodline traits since I'm in an entirely different nation and it's hard for civilians to get any information on that.
Even libraries in Demonic Abode don't provide sensitive data about her lineage, just a superficial history' Andrew contemplated for a while as masked person let him think as long as he desired since the masked person wanted Andrew to accept and understand his situation.
"How can my bloodline affect my ability to cultivate?" Andrew asked as he wanted to clarify a couple of things.
"You most likely haven't met special requirements that the progenitor of the bloodline had set, like awakening the bloodline using the ritual tools of your family or acquiring special magical materials that might stimulate your bloodline to the point of awakening or you are simply too weak for the standards that your progenitor had set" the person explained.
"Too weak? But my body readiness was hundred percent and by my knowledge, it should be enough for me to become a mage the moment my mana comprehension reaches 100%" Andrew contradicted.
The person behind the mask just sighed.
"Unfortunately, it seems your progenitor deems even 100% readiness by Demonic Abode standards as inferior" the mysterious person said with a pained tone, even though their voice was androgynous.
Then the person looked intently at Andrew before stating some unbelievable words:
"I expect your bloodline to be of Initial Mana Lord at the very least" even the person themselves couldn't believe what they were saying.
Andrew's eyes almost bulged out of their sockets...
He looked at this person intentively, trying to gauge if they were speaking the truth or straight up bulshiting to rope him in their faction.
"How can you be sure about that?" Andrew asked as he mentally boosted his vision to 100% as he was ready to catch any slip-up in this person's body language, yet this person stood neutrally as usual, not showing the slightest sign of abnormality.
"This is neither a secret nor it's widespread. The offspring of Initial Mana Lords and above tend to have difficulties getting on the path of magic since their progenitors set absurdly high standards. Mana Lord as the name suggests has authority over the mana. Mana Lords and above can suppress anyone weaker than them by just infusing their will into the mana. The mana will do the rest. It's generally a fact for all Evolutionary Realms, starting from as low as Initial Apprentice Mages, yet Mana Lords are different.
Mana obeys every order they issue. Their one word can become a Law. Law is nearly a permanent natural array created by mana itself as long as it's not erased by the stronger entity or overridden by stronger Law. They are orders that mana must obey!
I think you can imagine the implications of their power and authority over mana. They can freely edit the requirements of their offspring's bloodline awakening. Unlike, other Evolutionary Realms which are below Mana Lord that can only edit it to some extent.
The box in my hand contains a magic material that was enriched in the high-level 1-grade demonic mana. This should be more than enough to strengthen your body to the required limits!" The masked person explained while Andrew carefully thought about each piece of information.
His skepticism worked full force as he did his best to compare this new-found information with his already verified knowledge.
Although the majority of them seemed to be true he still had his doubts...
"I don't think I can awaken my bloodline which supposedly originates from Initial Mana Lord with just high-level 1-grade demonic mana infused material" Andrew stated his doubts to the masked person.
"Of course, you can't expect to awaken Initial Mana Lord's bloodline with such a trashy object. This magical material will only allow you to awaken the portion that will allow you to finally start comprehending mana!" The person patiently explained.
"Now, if you agree to join my faction in exchange for such opportunity, I'll assist you in assimilating the energy of magical material" The masked person stated for a while until Andrew gave his response after half and hour of ceaseless contemplating...
"I agree" said Andrew.