Kaimon City, Crimson Mist Research Institute.
"Your matter has been handled. Broken Lake Prison has already sent a notice. Since she has chosen to punish you, the institute will naturally honor her decision."
In the office, a red-eyed young scholar dressed in a white robe addressed the blue-scaled fishman before him. Despite the fishman's body being covered in wounds, the scholar's tone remained calm.
"Lorence, how is your progress with Blood Assimilation?"
The blue-scaled fishman lowered his head. "I've condensed two drops of silver source blood and two drops of gold source blood. But the third drop of silver source blood has shown no progress, even after more than ten days of effort. This seems to be my limit as a student."
"Just a bit more, and you could've reached the rainbow source blood," the scholar sighed. "A real pity. But don't be discouraged. Perhaps you'll have the opportunity to purify your bloodline in the future."
The red-eyed scholar offered a moment of consolation before his expression turned stern.
"So, you decided it wasn't worth staying in Broken Lake Prison for your Blood Embrace ritual and recklessly attempted to steal another's technique?"
Lorence remained silent, unwilling to argue.
"This time, you were lucky," the scholar continued, exhaling deeply. "Next time, you may not be so fortunate. Stay in the institute and focus on your research for the next ten years. Avoid all academic activities. By the time a decade has passed, she will likely have ascended to the Tri-Wing Domain. Meeting her again will be impossible."
"Yes, sir."
"Go rest. I'll arrange for your office tomorrow." The scholar tapped his desk lightly. "Prepare a report summarizing your research findings. Submit it to me in a few days."
"Thank you, teacher. Goodbye."
Lorence bowed respectfully and exited the office, quickly leaving the institute grounds.
The night sky hung heavy, illuminated by the ominous Blood Moon. The institute's campus was deserted. Lorence's pace quickened as he crossed the empty courtyard, eventually stopping at a tree. Without warning, he drove his fist into its trunk.
Crack!
The tree splintered under the force, sap bleeding from the impact. Lorence's already battered hands reopened, blue scales peeling away to expose raw flesh.
The physical pain was nothing compared to the invisible wound festering in his heart.
Lorence was none other than Medical Practitioner #176, the one ejected from Broken Lake Prison the night before.
Born Lorence Teuton, he was a blue-scaled fishman and a scholar of the Crimson Mist Research Institute. After an agonizing night and day, he had finally escaped the predator sharks of Finger Reef and returned to Kaimon City.
Collapsing onto dry land, Lorence had ignored his injuries, racing to the institute to plead for his future.
If #222 had chosen to pursue the matter, the institute would not only revoke Lorence's scholarly title but might also extract the sacred blood from his veins, stripping him of everything.
At one point, he had considered fleeing entirely.
But the omnipresent chip scans at security checkpoints immediately quashed that idea.
Unless he could find a black-market mage to remove the implant—a dangerous and costly endeavor—he would have to live as an outlaw in the wild, cut off from society.
In the Blood Moon Nation, crossing the Blood Saints left one with only two options:
Beg for mercy or await judgment.
Fortunately for Lorence, #222 had deemed her punishment sufficient.
He was still the institute's most promising scholar, still had a bright career ahead, and could still live for another century or two.
Yet, the absence of further penalties left Lorence seething with resentment.
To others, this might appear as an act of mercy.
To Lorence, it was nothing but contempt.
And #222 had every right to look down on him. As his teacher had pointed out, in ten years, she would undoubtedly ascend to the Tri-Wing Domain, while Lorence's odds of achieving even a Golden Bi-Wing were slim.
The disparity between them lay in their bloodlines.
Lorence's origins were humble—a poor orphan from the slums. His brilliance earned him admission to Kaimon University, and before graduation, he was recruited by the Crimson Mist Research Institute, where he gained the privilege of undergoing the Blood Transfusion Ritual, transforming him into one of the revered Blood Saints.
The Blood Saints, like the Moonshadow Clan, were not a biological race but a cultural and spiritual order. Unable to reproduce naturally, the Blood Saints expanded their numbers by inducting members from other species through the Transfusion Ritual.
This transformation granted tremendous benefits:
Immortality – While their bodies remained perpetually youthful, their souls would eventually decay. For humans, this meant a lifespan capped at about 150 years.
Blood Healing – Consuming blood significantly accelerated physical and spiritual recovery, allowing them to re-enter the Mirage Realm far more frequently than ordinary mages.
These two advantages cemented the Blood Saints' dominance in the Blood Moon Nation.
However, their powers came with severe drawbacks.
The most crippling? Blood Saints could not absorb Mirage Energy directly.
The Transfusion Ritual irreversibly bound their souls to their blood, granting immortality and healing at the cost of spiritual integrity. This limitation prevented them from drawing energy in the Mirage Realm, rendering them dependent on a substitute: Source Blood.
Source Blood acted as a proxy for their fractured souls, absorbing energy on their behalf.
It came in ascending tiers:
Silver Source Blood
Gold Source Blood
Rainbow Source Blood
Colorless Source Blood
Each tier aligned with the four types of Mirage Energy. Three drops of lower-tier Source Blood could be combined to create one drop of a higher tier. Without sufficient Source Blood, Blood Saints couldn't summon advanced spirits or progress as mages.
This was why Lorence's teacher considered him a tragic case. He was one drop away from creating Rainbow Source Blood, the key to ascending to the Tri-Wing Domain.
With his current Gold Source Blood, Lorence was capped at Golden Bi-Wing.
The only path forward was to purify his bloodline, a process so rare it bordered on impossible.
The disparity didn't end there.
Higher-tier Source Blood not only unlocked stronger abilities but also enhanced efficiency in Mirage Energy absorption. A single drop of Silver Source Blood provided only 30% efficiency. Each additional drop added 10%.
Lorence had two drops of Silver and two drops of Gold, equivalent to 100% efficiency.
By contrast, the institute's top scholars often started with Colorless Source Blood, equivalent to 290% efficiency.
In just ten years, this compounded advantage would make them untouchable.
To someone like #222, Lorence was an insignificant bug, undeserving of attention or hatred.
Her indifference enraged Lorence more than any punishment ever could.
Perhaps others would find this reaction petty, even pathetic.
But for Lorence, a fishman who had clawed his way from poverty to the institute, pride was all he had left.
Without pride, he was nothing.