CHAPTER 215: BLOODLINE TRANSFORMATION: PROGRESS 1% (PLEASE FAVORITE)_3

"How’s it going?" the female wizard apprentice asked with a smile. "The Lingua Weaving Society needs fresh blood. Join us, and you’ll avoid a lot of unwanted trouble. We’ll also support your continued training."

"..." Heidi opened her mouth, struggling to respond.

She was just a Basic-level Wizard Apprentice, and not highly talented, perhaps never even hopeful of becoming an Intermediate Wizard Apprentice in her lifetime. Now she had lost her tutor, her brother.

"I..."

"We do not agree!"

A loud, crisp voice rang out.

The crowd parted.

Hibell, holding a Magic Wand and dressed in a wizard’s robe, strode forward, grabbed Heidi’s wrist, and repeated sternly, "We do not agree!"

"Hibell!" Heidi exclaimed, her face flushed with emotion.

"It’s okay." Hibell softened her voice. "With me here, nothing will happen."

"Hibell!" The female wizard apprentice’s face darkened. "Do you intend to meddle in the affairs of the Lingua Weaving Society?"

"Marcia," Hibell’s gaze was icy. "You meddled in my affairs first. Didn’t you know I’m one of Heidi’s investors?"

"HMPH!" Marcia scoffed with disdain. You think you can protect her? A mere Intermediate Wizard Apprentice... "HMM?"

As if sensing something, her eyes suddenly widened in disbelief as she stared at Hibell. The surging, active spiritual power emanating from her was quite different from usual.

"You... you’ve broken through?"

"Indeed!" The crowd parted again as Modili and Oma, along with a group of others, arrived before Heidi.

"Heidi," Modili bowed. "Today is my friend Lawson’s funeral. I will not allow anyone to cause a disturbance. The Lingua Weaving Society... Not a chance!"

"Marcia," Oma said, his voice cold, "if you had trained as diligently as Hibell, you could have become an Advanced Wizard Apprentice long ago. As for now... you are not welcome here. Please leave!"

Both were Advanced Wizard Apprentices with high reputations among the younger generation. Modili’s tutor was even an Official Wizard. Their appearance at this moment was tantamount to publicly supporting Heidi.

The few who had been incessantly clamoring earlier instantly paled, lowering their heads, terrified of being noticed.

The ordinary people gathered outside the Black Swamp, though they had their own guilds and organizations, ultimately served the Wizards. They dared to bully a Basic-level Wizard Apprentice at others’ instigation but wouldn’t dare speak defiantly in front of Advanced Wizard Apprentices.

"Fine! Fine!" Marcia’s expression shifted, but she knew staying any longer would only bring more shame. She stomped her foot and turned to leave.

"Junior Sister Apprentice," Laud, an Intermediate Wizard Apprentice, began, an awkward smile on his face, before also excusing himself and leaving.

"Junior Brother Apprentice." At that moment, Hibell saw Carl in the crowd and waved him over. "You came quite early."

"Indeed," Carl nodded, stepping out from the crowd. "Congratulations, Senior Sister Hibell, on advancing to Advanced Wizard Apprentice and taking another step on the path of seeking truth."

Hibell giggled, her eyes curving into crescents. "It’s thanks to the publicly offered lectures by the Alliance wizards, explaining Mage’s Hand, that I successfully constructed my sixth Zero-Circle Magic. And the Wizard Tower! I used my points to exchange for training time there, and I finally advanced."

"Congratulations!" Heidi interjected, her sorrow unable to conceal her astonishment. "Hibell, you’ve really become an Advanced Wizard Apprentice! You said you’d break through in six years, and now, in just three, you’ve succeeded. Unlike me..."

"It doesn’t matter." Hibell grasped her hand, consoling her softly. "As long as I’m here, I won’t let anyone bully you. By the way, I’m hosting a party on the island in a few days to celebrate my advancement. How about you come and help?"

"Of course, no problem," Heidi nodded emphatically.

Carl looked at Heidi, then at Hibell, and finally at Modili and Oma, who were the center of attention.

He smiled and slipped back into the crowd.

「A few days later.」

To celebrate Hibell becoming an Advanced Wizard Apprentice, a grand banquet was held on the island.

Modili, Oma, and another Advanced Wizard Apprentice named Haman attended.

"Congratulations!"

"Hibell, congratulations on your advancement!"

"..."

The small island was rarely so lively.

"Your Senior Sister Apprentice is amazing," Bach, who had also come to the banquet, said quietly, finding a moment beside Carl. "She’s only been in the Black Swamp for three years and is already an Advanced Wizard Apprentice, and she’s made so many friends."

"SIGH! Truly enviable!"

"Yes," Carl nodded, watching Hibell’s silhouette as she moved through the crowd, wine glass in hand, a smile on her face. "Back in Sigerno City, my Senior Sister Apprentice seemed so distant. I never imagined she was so adept at handling relationships. It seems now that she just couldn’t fit into the world of ordinary people."

"UH..." Bach began, "that’s not what I meant." What surprised him was the speed of Hibell’s advancement, not any talent for making friends.

In Carl’s view, the change in Hibell’s personality was more astonishing; the increase in her cultivation level, by contrast, seemed nothing special.

"Someone’s looking for you." Patting Carl on the shoulder, Bach squeezed back into the crowd.

"Carl!" Heidi’s cheeks were flushed from a little alcohol, making her skin appear even more delicate, so tender it looked like water could be squeezed from it. "Thank you for your help at the funeral the other day."

"No need to thank me," Carl waved his hand. "You should thank Hibell. I didn’t really help much."

"You were planning to help. I saw your actions," Heidi smiled, her voice tinged with emotion. "At that moment, you were the only one moving forward, not retreating. It’s only when someone is in peril that you see the true nature of those around them, don’t you agree? A drink?"

She raised her glass in a gesture.

Carl nodded. They clinked glasses, each taking a sip.

"Actually, those workers were right," Heidi said. "I put all the money into the project account. Now that the building has collapsed and the construction schedule is delayed, the funds in the account are no longer enough. Fortunately, Modili, Oma, and a few others plan to invest and help resolve the trouble."

Her voice was flat, showing no hint of joy.

Investing. While it was said to solve problems, it also diluted the profits that should have been hers. But she had no choice. It wasn’t just a matter of money. Without Modili and the others as her backers, even the craftsmen’s guild formed by ordinary people would dare to bully her. Troubles like the ones on the day of the funeral were bound to happen again. Now that everyone knew she had the patronage of several Advanced Wizard Apprentices, anyone looking to cause trouble would have to think twice.

Carl’s expression was indifferent. "That’s a good thing."

"Yes!" Heidi sighed, then recomposed herself. "Modili suggested that the people present today form a small organization, similar to the Lingua Weaving Society. What do you think?"

"An organization?" Carl looked around. Most of the people at the banquet were whispering among themselves, discussing something that seemed related to this. "My thoughts... well, they don’t seem to matter much."

"True," Heidi smiled. "Then we don’t need to overthink it. Let’s just wait for news!"

Saying so, she raised her glass in a toast.

Since she had already given up her earnings and shares, she naturally wouldn’t mind joining an organization. There’s strength in numbers. With an organization, one also has more confidence in doing many things. Just like the Lingua Weaving Society.

Before long.

"Junior Brother Apprentice!" Hibell waved to Carl, her face flushed. "Modili proposed forming an organization called the ’Stellar Secret Society.’ I think it’s a good idea. You should join too. I’m one of the four founding elders of the Stellar Secret Society!"

"I’ll join," Carl laughed. "Definitely! By joining the organization, and with a Senior Sister Apprentice like you who’s an Advanced Wizard Apprentice, I doubt anyone will dare to bully me anymore."

Hibell laughed heartily.

「Divine Domain Fragment.」

"TSS!"

As a drop of blood fell, a wisp of white smoke suddenly rose from his palm, and Carl’s face paled.

"NGH!" With a muffled groan, his eyes twitched, and a sheen of cold sweat appeared on his forehead as he pushed his Bloodline Magic to its limits.

The blood, capable of devouring and corrupting all things, began to surge madly into his body.

Fortunately, after months of adaptation, Carl had developed some resistance and could better gather his life force to withstand it.

After a long while, as the magic operated, the Bloodline of the Second Order Abyss Creature began to merge with his flesh, bit by bit.

「Half a month later.」

Carl stood in a peculiar posture, dark brownish-red lines appearing on the surface of his skin, like writhing earthworms.

「A month later.」

His eyes turned pitch black, and a soul-stirring, eerie power began to accumulate within him. His back now looked as if it were covered in a complex tattoo.

「Three months later.」

"NGH!" Carl grunted, his eyes snapping wide. The skin on his back rippled, and slender tentacles slowly extended from his flesh.

Soon, tentacles, like a spider’s web, thrashed wildly across Carl’s back, and a layer of dark light enveloped his entire body.

Fear Aura!

"Success!"

Bloodline Transformation: Progress 1%.