The aura around him turned menacing, and the room's atmosphere quickly intensified. But then, the sound of two claps restored the calm. Everyone looked at Jairus, the source of the claps, as he said,
"Well, since everything is over, everyone should go and rest. The journey is still long. But do not relax your defence, for we do not know what might happen." He said to soothe the anger-filled atmosphere.
After that, Marcus, Alex, Jairus, and James went in a certain direction together before asking an attendant to lead Leon to his room.
Before they left, their faces were covered with serious expressions, and Leon guessed that they would discuss the incident.
After all, many members of the team had been killed, one of the heirs had been slain, and the other had nearly died. Even if Leon did not understand much of the matter, it was natural to expect that many measures would be taken.
Leon followed the attendant without saying a word, as his mind was filled with different thoughts and emotions.
"This feeling, I still remember it from my previous life. It is still as unpleasant as before." Leon thought as a mixture of complicated feelings brewed in his heart.
The failure to resist or to even do anything, the inability to even control his own fate, let alone the fate of others, the feeling of despair in the face of death as in his previous life. If it were not for Jairus's help, he would be dead now.
"All I could do was watch in horror as what was happening. As my friend's body lay on the ground without being able to retrieve it. As others were being surrounded and slowly killed.
And all I could do was watch helplessly, unable to do anything, just as I did in my previous life. If I had been a little stronger, a little smarter, a little braver, maybe everything would be different now. Maybe Neophem would be alive now." Leon blamed himself.
"Even with my increased strength, I am still unable to do anything because I am just a coward who can only hide behind others."
When he thought about this matter, he gritted his teeth and clenched his fists until his nails dug into the flesh of his palms and blood started dripping from them.
"After my reincarnation, I finally thought it was my chance. I stupidly thought that life was a kind of fairy tale and that I was the main character because I got Varian's help.
But my stupidity and arrogance blinded me to the truth. Since I was reincarnated into this world, I have not been able to do a single thing on my own. From the beginning, I was only receiving help from others. Even these golden fingers . I received them from Varian because he took pity on me." Leon mocked himself.
"Damn, how could I have been so blind to the truth?" Leon cursed in his heart.
"But this does not mean that I have to stay like this forever. As long as I am alive, I still have the opportunity to change myself.
I must take advantage of this opportunity and start changing from now, otherwise there is no guarantee that I will be alive until the right time comes." Leon thought as the feelings of self-blame, pain, helplessness, failure, and despair all burned into unlimited determination.
"If I truly want to control my destiny and be able to protect those dear to my heart, I must choose the difficult path myself. Even if it is a path full of thorns, I will gladly take it as long as it leads me to my goal." Leon decided firmly in his heart, his eyes shining with determination.
After Leon's intense train of thoughts ended, he finally arrived in front of his new room. The attendant gave him the key to his room and bowed slightly. Then she left, leaving him with his thoughts.
Leon entered the room and started looking at the room's decor. It was a simple room with two beds and a wooden wardrobe. There was a small window that let in some sunlight. The room was clean and cozy, but nothing too fancy.
"Looks like my roommate isn't here yet." Leon thought after he took a look at the bathroom and found it empty.
He wondered who his roommate would be and if they would get along well. He hoped that his roommate would not be someone who would cause trouble or annoy him. He had enough problems to deal with already.
"Well, that's better. I can at least integrate Neophem's bloodline as soon as possible."
He said to himself as he went into the bathroom and closed the door.
The bathroom was similar to the other plane's bathroom, so Leon didn't waste any time looking around.
He summoned the system and went to the extraction skill and found an additional detail.
[ Name: Extraction
Rank: One
Upgrade: Possible
Cooldown: One month
Information: In its peak, the skill allows the user to extract anything only by thinking about the activation of the skill. But the skill is currently in its initial state, so it has some limitations. Only the bloodline can be extracted from the bodies and combined with the user's bloodline.
Upgrade requirements: Extract the bloodline of five first-tier beings.
Stored bloodline: One ]
As he concentrated on the stored bloodline, another panel appeared.
[ BLOODLINE NAME: The Pendragon Bloodline
RANK: B
PURITY: 60%
UPGRADE: Possible
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: The bloodline of Arthur Pendragon. It gives the owner an exceptional talent in swordsmanship and the ability to use fire magic.
BLOODLINE TALENTS:
- Swordsmanship mastery (B)
- Fire affinity (C)
BLOODLINE SKILLS:
- Royal blade art (B): [ 0% ]
Leon's eyes sparkled brightly after he finished reading and he thought silently, "This is going to be the cornerstone for me to reach the top."
After that, he ordered the system to fuse the bloodline and another panel appeared to confirm his decision.
Thanks to this notification, Leon remembered a very important thing.
I should take off my clothes. I will probably sweat and bleed badly as last time.
Leon took off his clothes and then, without hesitation, he pressed the confirmation button. After that, the panel disappeared in front of him, and a feeling of pain began to rise within him. But it was different from the last time.
This time, he felt his veins swell as if they wanted to explode his body. His body temperature rose to the point of boiling, as if his blood had turned into lava. Meanwhile, Leon felt that pieces of random information and knowledge were entering his brain. But because of the intense pain, he was unable to put them together. From what he understood, they were connected to the sword. And he guessed it was because of the blood. After all, Arthur was one of the most famous swordsmen in history, if not the most famous.
The pain continued for a few more minutes. And although it was unbearable, Leon, unlike the previous time, did not nearly lose consciousness. Leon guessed that this was because his physical stats had improved. It is worth noting that as the integration process continued, Leon noticed some changes in his body and mind. He felt that his feelings and perception in general had become better. In addition to that, he felt a strange sense of familiarity when thinking about the sword, as if he had used it all his life.
After approximately fifteen minutes since the operation began, the pain finally began to slowly disappear. And after that, it took one minute for it to disappear completely.
[ The bloodline has been successfully integrated! ]
[ Your attributes have increased! ]
The notifications were quickly overwhelmed by a surge of information and knowledge that filled Leon's mind. Knowledge of how to use the sword.
Dozens of years of experience filled Leon's mind in seconds, making him turn into an experienced swordsman in a short period of time.
This transformation was not limited to knowledge, as his body became stronger and more organized. In the past, his body was strong, but he was not able to use his strength to the fullest extent. But now he could do so, which had raised his strength to a whole other level. This wasn't just an increase in attributes, but rather in all aspects of strength.
In addition to sword knowledge, there was something else Leon obtained. The ability to manipulate mana.
Mana was a kind of invisible energy that existed everywhere, but was invisible like gravity. He only read about in noveks and he didn't expect that it was real.
Now, Leon was able to see this energy coursing through space. They were like grains of light in different colors and sizes, which turned the space into a beautiful colorful painting.
And Leon was able to manipulate these grains. Or rather, the red ones, since they represented fire, which was Leon's affinity.
Based on the knowledge that entered his mind, he was able to see all kinds of mana. But he was only able to manipulate the red ones. Or at least, this was what was recommended. As the use of other elements may lead to damage to his body and injury. And may lead to death in the worst circumstances. Not to mention that this would be slower, require more concentration, and be less effective.
Another thing he learned was how to use both of his talents to activate the skill called "Royal blade art". Which was a combination of sword movements and elemental energy. Effective in both attacking and defending.
A few minutes passed by and Leon stood there, absorbing the new knowledge he had received without moving a finger. Although the system helped him a lot in this aspect, he still needed some time to exploit this knowledge to the fullest. So he didn't waste any useful information.
After about ten minutes, Leon finally moved as he finished absorbing the information. He took a deep breath and tried to control himself so as not to jump for joy. "Well, I shouldn't get too excited, as this is just the beginning of the journey." Leon thought and took a few more breaths to calm himself down.
Then another thought entered Leon's mind. "Should I try out my new abilities?"
He decided to give it a try. He wanted to see how much he had improved and what he could do with his new powers. He looked around the bathroom and saw a metal bucket filled with water. He thought it would be a good target to test his fire manipulation.
He focused his mind on the red grains of energy and tried to gather them around his hand. He felt a warm sensation as the energy flowed into his palm. He looked at his hand and saw a small flame flickering on his skin. He smiled and felt a surge of excitement.
He aimed his hand at the bucket and released the flame. He watched as the flame flew through the air and hit the bucket. He expected the bucket to melt or explode, but nothing happened. The flame just bounced off the metal and dissipated.
Leon frowned and felt a pang of disappointment. He wondered what went wrong. He checked the system and saw a notification.
[ Fire manipulation failed. Reason: Insufficient energy and control. ]
He realized that he had underestimated the difficulty of manipulating energy. He needed more energy and more control to achieve the desired effect.
He decided that this matter will be postponed in the event that some accidents occur. After all, he wasn't sure about his ability to keep everything under control, and burning down the plane wasn't on his list of goals.