Sid Gene bearers became Templars.
But Sid Flame bearers became Gurus, the true masters of the Spiritual World.
Outside of noble houses, only one in a hundred were born with a Sid Gene. But throughout the Spiritual World, only one in a million possessed Sid Flames! Once awoken, Sid Flames gave their owner the ability to absorb ambient Sid, use mystical abilities known as Mantras, and exchange mental messages with whomever they wanted.
The mantras one could learn depended on the Sid Flame they were born with, but without exception, mantras either offered dreadful powers or high utility.
Before a guru, a templar was nothing. No need to mention confrontations at the same level. Even with an extra five levels advantage, the average templar couldn't resist a guru. After all, Sid Flames were blessings that came straight from the Gods! The more powerful the God, the greater the might of the Sid Flames they bestowed mortals with.
But in the history of the Purple Dawn Continent, there had never been a case of Wrathful God Fire.
This was no standard blessing, but the power of an actual deity! Something that only celestial beings of the highest rank could wield. So, if in other scenarios, this event would have been cause for celebration. Here, it was a catastrophe. Mithras wasn't a guru yet. Worse, he belonged to the servant class—leaving him at the mercy of his masters.
Lady Cassandra didn't have the means to give a guru proper training. But she didn't hesitate to threaten Mithras with his sister's life, forcing him to explore and develop his Wrathful God Flame for her personal use. It wasn't long before she realized that Mithras' Wrathful God Flame originated from Vritra, the first-born dragon—Antigod of Vengeance and master of wyrms.
Thanks to Vritra's authority, even without proper training, Mithras could control or outright summon all serpents within a 300 meters radius. He could also communicate with them, see through their eyes, and borrow the abilities of the snakes he controlled.
But in the Purple Dawn continent where Gods received worship and Antigod followers were to be killed on sight, the blessing of an Antigod was nothing short of a death sentence.
Once the origin of his power was made public, Mithras would get hacked into ten thousand pieces—no question asked! Lady Cassandra used this fact and the life of Mithras' sister to force him into a slavery contract, bringing him from the servant class down to the slave class!
With his Slave Seal in her hands, there was nothing he could do to oppose her.
But in life, even when things get tough, you gotta keep moving. And that's exactly what Mithras did.
Mastering the Poisonous Arts, subduing gangs and crime families, robbing treasures and killing over 540 people in the span of 9 years. Under Lady Cassandra's orders and guidance, Mithras turned into a one-man gang—hiding his pain behind a wall of silly jokes.
The young servant's heart sank into despair. House Astalon's power grew massively. Lady Cassandra became the de facto leader—relying on Mithras' Sid Flame to improve her templar rank at a rapid pace. But while on the surface, Mithras' status improved, in truth, he had lost all freedom—not allowed to own money or property, and followed wherever he went.
Cassandra even repossessed Mithras' house—keeping Ishtar in a secret location, and only allowing the siblings to meet once a month. As they got older, Arian grew suspicious of Mithras' proximity to his mother. But in recent weeks, Lady Cassandra was getting more and more protective of Mithras, reducing the time he spent away from her, and only allowing him to interact with people she approved of.
Fearing the worse, Arian started following his favored servant, ultimately stumbling on the monthly reunion between Mithras and Ishtar:
It was love at first sight.
Arian didn't care about his mother's feelings or plans and, enraged that Mithras had kept secrets and beauty from him, Arian didn't hesitate to frame his most trusted servant for theft, before executing him in his flower garden.
Of course, this was only possible because, at the moment, Lady Cassandra was in the royal palace, engaging the king in crucial negotiations. And whenever Cassandra wasn't close by, she used her Slave Seal to suppress Mithras' powers—making him unable to fight back against Arian!
Two lives, two failures, one worse than the other—a depressing scenario!
"Wooh, dying sucks so bad! I don't want to die again!" Mithras sobbed, then started sorting out his thoughts.
"It is bad enough to be heartless—worse to be an idiot. But Arian, you have the nerves to be both!" After processing all his memories, Mithras said.
Without trying to understand why his mother valued Mithras so much, Arian murdered him—ruining the future of House Astalon.
Even a mental handicap couldn't explain such an absurd level of stupidity. At the same time, remembering how much Arian used to favor him, Mithras couldn't believe that he'd kill him so easily. They ate the same food, wore clothes of similar quality, and slept in adjacent rooms—leading to the common belief that, after his mother, Mithras was the most important person in Arian's life.
Was the Astalon young noble truly that heartless?
Mithras didn't care, because now, he had to save his sister!
And as his thoughts reached this point…
[Ding! Ding! Ding!]
[Human Aphrodisiac System…initialization]
A mechanical voice boomed in Mithras' mind.
'Yep. I've officially gone insane.' At first looking left and right to find the owner of that voice, it wasn't long before Mithras realized that it came straight from inside his head. The realization didn't help, making the youth believe that too many reincarnations had messed up his soul so bad that he was starting to lose his mind.
But as Mithras resolved to ignore the voice, a status screen appeared, listing his attributes.
'It is not a joke? I really have a system! I knew fate couldn't be that cruel! How could I, this cute and bubbly reincarnator, go through three lives without a cheat code! The dream is still possible!' Mithras couldn't believe his eyes.
Humans had Genes—monsters had mutations. Without a Gene, humans couldn't become templars. But unless the aspiring warrior was born with nature's favors or encountered a divine miracle, they inherited their Gene from their parents or ancestors. Mutations on the other end either came from monster parents or from Sid-related viruses. Human or not, anyone with a mutation was treated as a monster: to be killed, enslaved or worshiped…depending on the area.
Born from an ordinary human family, Mithras shouldn't have either one. And yet, according to this status screen, he not only possessed the Dragon Horse Mutation but also descended from the monster race?
'The Serpent Colt is a lord among snakes, and after tempering its bloodline to the limit, it can transform into a dragon: becoming the legendary Dragon Horse—with unmatched dickpower and endless stamina. How am I connected to that thing?' Mithras asked himself.
In the Spiritual World where dragons reigned supreme, there wasn't one soul that didn't know about the Dragon Horse tribe—one of the few monster species honored on all sides of the globe.
But as Mithras' curiosity peaked, his amber eyes locked on the "Destiny," and his brows furrowed. "Red God…Servant?" To some, these words might carry some imposing demeanor, but in Mithras' eyes, this was an insult.
Servant one day, servant always. It was as if the status screen was telling him, that no matter how high he went, he would always be…someone's servant. In this life, Mithras endured enough humiliation. Could it be that after being reborn for the second time, he would still have to suffer abuse and disgrace?
No!
He refused to accept it!
His dream of making the beauties of the world pay for his meat had to become a reality! And even the arrangements of the supreme god couldn't stop him!
"Challenge!" Mithras didn't hesitate. In that instant, he no longer cared about the half-monster allegations and Dragon Horse Mutation. He didn't care about whether he was dreaming or going insane. He just wanted to stand up for his dream and challenge destiny.
In a flash, a succession of system messages flowed through Mithras' mind. Dazzling red and blue flames erupted from the youth, tempering his flesh and muscles while increasing his Sid units!
But the changes didn't stop here. Although he couldn't see his reflection, Mithras had the firm belief that his facial features were getting tweaked as well, improved to new levels.
By the time the System's voice again echoed in Mithras' mind, the youth's body had undergone a complete transformation—now on par with the elites of his generation.
"Is this really…my body?" Mesmerized by the luster of his skin and the overwhelming strength that flowed through his veins, Mithras blanked out momentarily. Then he remembered a little something, and his eyes stretched wide.
"Wait, wait, wait! What do you mean by 'Human Aphrodisiac?'" Now getting used to the voice in his head, Mithras asked. He was too sweet, innocent and not cultured enough to know anything about "netorare" or "netori." But the Human Aphrodisiac claims caught his attention, filling him with a strange mix of fear and expectation.
The Adamantine Dragon Horse Mutation also hides hidden dangers. It's a unique mutation that gives you 100,000 times the average templar's testosterone, incredible toughness and makes you unkillable, but when you do get injured and you will, you can only heal by drinking breast milk or love juice. And if anyone manages to eat your organs, they can steal this mutation. So…be careful to not get screwed.> The system explained, and shocked to the core of his soul, Mithras just stood there, blinking in a stupor. "Huh…" 'Mithras, you are here because I got moved by your dream and can't allow you to die without a fair shot at making it a reality. There are people out there who are dead set on forcing you to serve their goals, but I am not one of them. Hero, villain, or both, it's all up to you. So feel free to live your life as you see fit. The system is just here to help you reach your full potential. Go hunt your dreams, Little Mithras. This…is my gift to you.' The system relayed the Lord's message. "Lord, I love you—no homo! I always thought the supreme being was a heartless son of a bitch but turns out you have a heart! I'm so sorry for misjudging you and promise to give you three prayers a day while washing my hands in breast milk!" Moved by the Lord's kindness, Mithras sobbed. Now it all made sense. The Lord was a mysterious and supreme figure that made Gods, Antigods and Sages alike unable to sleep at night. For such a being to send Mithras into reincarnation, with a system to boot, wasn't surprising. 'However, do keep in mind that because of your Human Aphrodisiac state, if you don't have sex at least three times a week, your crotch will burst into smithereens. Also, I hate virgin men with a passion, so I've made it so that if you don't stuff a hole by midnight…you die. You got about five hours to get laid before your balls pop like a balloon. Good luck!' The message ended here, causing black lines to form on Mithras' forehead. "I want to say he is a scumbag, but the Lord is right. If with this body and system, I can't soak in booty, I truly deserve to be damned. For too long the hussies of the world have abused gentle and generous men, judging them on the size of their bank accounts, using them for gifts and tossing them when things get tough! Not anymore! For the sake of all the wronged men in the past and present, I will make those materialistic hussies…go bankrupt for my shlong! So men of culture of the world, rise and assemble…under the holy banner of Mithras!"