After a few minutes, Gavin descended the stairs of the villa in his human form, now dressed in a simple shirt and pants.
His mindset was clear: If I'm not embarrassed, they can't embarrass me.
As he stepped into the room, his gaze landed on a new addition—a young woman sitting with Valerie and the others. Now, there were three women present.
He subtly sensed her aura. The young girl who had seen him earlier was a half-blood, while the new woman was a Vampire—though something felt off. Her Vampiric aura was weaker than what he had read about in his inherited memories.
Even more surprising was how Valerie treated her. Despite viewing Vampires as mere servants, Valerie addressed the woman as an equal.
Taking this in, Gavin nodded silently and seated himself on a single chair opposite the new woman.
Valerie started the conversation.
"You already know," she said, "he is my cousin Lucaius, though he has chosen to go by Gavin instead."
Gavin gave a small nod in agreement.
Valerie then gestured toward the young girl beside her.
"This is Sterza—our great-granddaughter, in terms of bloodline."
Gavin gave another nod, acknowledging her presence.
Then, Valerie turned to the new woman sitting across from him.
"And this is Rosalin," she said.
"You can already tell she's a Vampire, but don't underestimate her. She practices one of the most difficult Blood Race professions—Life Sculptor. She has already reached the Master Rank and successfully removed 80% of the defects of the Vampire race from her body. She is in the process of transforming into a true member of the Blood Race."
Gavin's expression remained neutral, but inside, he was intrigued.
Among the six exclusive professions of the Blood Race, two had caught his interest: Life Sculptor and Crimson Oracle
Gavin was at a crossroads. He had to choose between two professions—or perhaps even both.
For someone who had always been averse to the professional system, this was an ironic turn. He had avoided professions because taking one meant forming a cause-and-effect relationship with the creator of that profession. But this time, things were different.
His connection to the Blood Race Ancestor had already been established the moment he occupied this body. Since that cause and effect was already in place, forming another bond within the Blood Race did not concern him. Besides, their Ancestor was a True God—an immortal being. Even if the Ancestor took notice, his focus would likely be on the broken altar in Gavin's spiritual world, not on Gavin himself.
Still, there were more pressing matters to address first.
Gavin turned to Valerie and asked,
"You broke my seal. Won't the one who sealed me realize it and come after us?"
As soon as the question was spoken, Sterza and Rosalin fell into deep thought.
Valerie, however, remained completely unbothered.
She replied with calm confidence, "I recognized the divine power that was used to seal you."
She continued, "It belonged to the God of the Golden Lion Race—a mere Weak Divine Power God. If he comes, I will simply call our high-ranking family members."
Sterza frowned, considering this. "Then does that mean the God of the Golden Lion Race was behind Gavin's kidnapping and sealing?"
Rosalin immediately disagreed. "That's not possible."
Gavin nodded in agreement.
When he had been kidnapped and sealed, the Golden Lion God had not even ascended yet. The seal's strength had only been slightly above his realm, meaning the one who sealed him was no god at the time.
Valerie confirmed his thoughts.
"The seal was originally placed by a Demigod," she explained. "But after three thousand years, its power weakened to the Legendary Realm. That means the Golden Lion God must have placed the seal when he was still a Demigod."
Her eyes narrowed slightly. "Which means he couldn't have been behind your kidnapping. Only a True God could have hidden something like that from us back then."
Gavin's expression darkened slightly, but he didn't dwell on it.
Instead, he asked, "Then are we returning to Abara?"
Valerie nodded. "Yes. We leave for Gate City in a few hours. From there, we'll take our ship back to Abara."
Sterza suddenly looked up. "Then I need to say goodbye to Alice."
Gavin immediately recognized the name.
"Alice… Elan Wright's fiancée."
Sterza's head snapped toward him. "How do you know her?"
Gavin replied calmly, "I made a contract with Elan Wright's family. In exchange for giving me the inheritance of the first five realms of the basic human professions, I allowed my servant to form a familiar bond with Elan to assist him and his family."
Sterza hummed in understanding. "Then it seems I'll have to agree to help Alice establish a town."
Gavin raised an eyebrow. "What?"
Sterza explained, "Alice asked me to help her show the William Family and other noble houses that our Blood Race stands behind them. That way, they'll feel secure enough to establish a Mage Tower and develop a town. I wanted to agree, but I don't have the authority to make such decisions on behalf of our family without my father's permission."
Valerie, who had been listening quietly, finally spoke up. "You can go ahead and agree. I'll handle speaking to your father."
Sterza's eyes brightened. "Then I'll go inform Alice immediately."
She stood up quickly and darted toward the door.
Rosalin followed, saying, "I'll go with her."
Once they left, Valerie turned her attention back to Gavin.
"Are you planning to follow the Demigod path?" she asked.
Gavin hesitated. "I'm not sure. When I created my ritual spells, I didn't know about the paths beyond the Legendary Realm. But in the three times I've reincarnated, I've always formed bonds with tribes and decided to protect them with my abilities."
Valerie nodded thoughtfully. "I see. You've already seen the professions of our race. Have you decided which one to choose? A profession will help you increase your strength quickly."
Gavin exhaled slowly. "I can't decide between Life Sculptor and Crimson Oracle."
Valerie smiled slightly. "You don't have to pick just one. You can take both, choosing one as your main profession and the other as your sub-profession."
Gavin's eyes narrowed. "Is it possible to practice two professions at the same time?"
Valerie tilted her head slightly. "Of course. Do you even know what a profession truly is?"
Gavin paused for a moment, thinking back to the knowledge of his previous life and what he had learned about professions.
Then, he answered, "Professions are the key to comprehending rules that cannot be understood in the mortal realm."
Valerie's eyes widened slightly in surprise. "That's correct. But how did you figure that out? Most people only come to this realization after reaching the Legendary Realm."
Gavin replied confidently, "By analyzing the abilities and spells granted by professions. Some of them derive from rules that mortals cannot comprehend, yet they can still use them."
Valerie nodded approvingly. "That's a sharp observation. Now, between Life Sculptor and Crimson Oracle, which one will be your main profession and which will be your sub-profession?"
Gavin thought for a moment before asking, "What abilities do these two professions grant? And what difference does it make whether a profession is main or sub?"
He already knew that each rank increase in a profession also increased one's realm and overall strength. Practicing two professions simultaneously provided a major advantage, allowing one to bypass certain stages of realm progression.
For example, reaching Rank 5 in just one profession would bring someone to the 5th-level mortal stage, while having two professions at Rank 5 could allow them to directly enter the Bronze Rank, skipping an entire level of life advancement.
If it was a loophole in cultivation, it was one that Gavin fully intended to exploit.
However, Valerie's next words shattered that expectation.
"Life Sculptor has eight core abilities," she explained.
- Rank 1 – Life Sense
- Rank 2 – Life Blade
- Rank 4 – Life Steal
- Rank 6 – Life Pattern Sense
- Rank 8 – Life Sculpting
- Rank 11 – Transformation
- Rank 16 – Chimera
- Rank 20 – Life Merge
"Crimson Occult has eight abilities as well," she continued.
- Rank 1 – Blood Control
- Rank 3 – Blood Rune
- Rank 5 – Blood Ritual
- Rank 7 – Blood Marks
- Rank 9 – Blood Calculation
- Rank 11 – Blood Pool
- Rank 16 – Blood Field
- Rank 20 – Blood Destiny
Valerie then took her time explaining each ability in detail.
As Gavin listened, he realized something—the Crimson Occultist profession bore strong similarities to the practices he had followed in his previous life. This realization dampened his interest. He had already mastered a similar system before. In this new world, he wanted something different—a fresh path to explore.
Valerie then revealed another crucial piece of information.
"The difference between a main and sub profession is simple—only your main profession contributes to your cultivation realm. Your sub-profession will grant you abilities, but it will not help advance your realm."
So there wasn't a loophole in cultivation after all.
Gavin fell into deep thought before finally making his decision.
"Life Sculptor. I'll choose Life Sculptor as my main profession and Crimson Occultist as my sub-profession."