Chapter 41: Our Level 21 Target Was Killed by a Level 34 Elite

Raven let the question remain in front of him for several seconds.

«"Compatible Bloodline detected."

"ARGENT BASTION — Partial Assimilation"

Estimated results:

Increased skeletal durability

Metallic reinforcement compatibility

Potential evolution of "Stonehide"

Bloodline pathway integration

Warning: Acquisition may permanently alter host biological lineage.

DEVOUR BLOODLINE?»

Cassian Orbrecht lay several feet away, eyes open as blood slowly spread through the uneven stone beneath him.

The silver plates he’d produced during the fight had almost completely disappeared after his death. Only thin metallic lines remained beneath the skin of his neck and forearms, like mineral veins embedded in human flesh.

Valeria waited behind Raven.

She couldn’t see the interface, but she’d already learned to recognize when Predation was showing him something.

"Judging by your expression, I’m guessing it isn’t asking whether you want his boots."

Raven kept reading.

"The boots would probably be less problematic."

He opened the advanced analysis.

«"Argent Bastion"

Current compatibility: Moderate

Predicted assimilation quality: 43–58%

Trait redundancy detected: "Stonehide"

Potential conflict: Mineralization pathways

Recommended complete biological restructuring for optimal use: UNAVAILABLE»

That answered quite a lot.

Valeria moved slightly closer.

"What did you find?"

"His Bloodline."

She remained silent for a moment.

Even though she’d already suspected it, hearing the confirmation had a different effect.

"You really can take it?"

"A partial version. Predation thinks it can integrate part of the structure into my body, reinforce my bones, and possibly evolve Stonehide."

Valeria looked at Cassian’s corpse.

Then at Raven.

"You’re describing a hereditary Bloodline like you’re comparing two pieces of armor."

"Right now, that’s exactly what I’m doing."

"Raven, House Orbrecht has spent generations refining Argent Bastion. Marriages have been arranged solely to preserve the concentration of that blood."

Raven looked at the percentage again.

"Then they’ve invested too much time into something mediocre."

Valeria gave him an incredulous laugh.

"Only you could discover that you can steal the genetic legacy of a noble family and complain about the statistics."

"It’s redundant."

"It’s a Bloodline."

"I already have Stonehide."

"Argent Bastion is superior."

"The full version, maybe. This would be an incomplete assimilation at less than sixty percent quality, with conflict risk and a permanent modification I don’t even need."

Valeria studied his face, perhaps expecting to find hidden desire beneath the explanation.

There wasn’t any.

Raven closed the window.

«DEVOUR BLOODLINE?»

"No."

The interface disappeared.

Valeria took a moment to react.

"That’s it?"

Raven sheathed his knife.

"That’s it."

"You could obtain something almost no one outside that family can possess."

"I could also eat a rock. Just because something is difficult to obtain doesn’t mean I should put it inside my body."

"That comparison is offensive on approximately seven different levels."

"Cassian’s dead. I doubt he’ll file a complaint."

Valeria looked at the corpse again.

"I thought Predation would make you want to accumulate every power available."

"That would be a very efficient way to end up full of incompatible abilities I don’t need. Power that doesn’t solve a problem is still weight. It just has better marketing."

The answer seemed to interest her more than Raven expected.

Valeria had seen artifact collectors, nobles obsessed with increasing the purity of their Bloodlines, and mercenaries willing to risk their lives for a marginally better Skill.

Raven had just rejected something an entire family considered part of its identity because it didn’t fit what he was building.

"So you really are choosing every piece," she murmured.

"We reached that conclusion yesterday."

"Yes, but it’s different seeing you do it when the piece is worth a fortune."

Raven picked up Cassian’s coin pouch and tested its weight.

"I’m keeping the fortune."

Valeria smiled.

"Naturally."

"I have principles."

"I’m not sure that word means what you think it means."

Raven was about to answer when Predator’s Instinct tightened.

Not a gradual warning.

A violent pressure.

His entire body reacted before he understood why.

"Back."

The tone erased any humor.

Valeria didn’t ask.

Neither did Roland.

The workers began moving away from the tunnel entrance while the two remaining Orbrecht guards dragged their injured companions back.

The breathing they’d heard from the darkness had stopped.

That was worse.

Raven watched the entrance.

Black.

Wide enough for a wagon to pass through.

Nothing.

Then he heard another sound.

Not from the tunnel.

Above them.

Falling rocks.

Roland turned.

"Upper terrace!"

Something came down the quarry wall.

Not gracefully.

Falling.

Hitting stone.

Breaking through brush.

A reddish mass burst through the vegetation and landed on the fifth terrace hard enough to shake the ground.

The Crimson Mirehorn.

Raven recognized it immediately from the records.

Except the drawings had been far too kind.

The creature was roughly the size of a heavy warhorse, but its anatomy resembled a combination of deer, bull, and something engineered to ram through fortifications.

Four long legs ended in split black hooves.

Wine-colored plates covered the shoulders, neck, and part of its back.

Six curved horns surrounded its head like an uneven crown, while luminous red veins ran beneath the paler skin of its belly.

It was covered in wounds.

An entire section of armor plates was missing from one flank.

Two horns were broken.

Its left rear leg could barely support weight.

Blood ran from its abdomen.

Valeria inhaled.

"There you are."

Raven didn’t share her enthusiasm.

The Mirehorn hadn’t jumped from the upper terrace willingly.

Something had forced it down.

The creature raised its head.

Its red eyes found Valeria first.

Then the broken vials of its own blood scattered around the camp.

The Mirehorn released a bellow so deep Raven felt it in his ribs.

Mana responded.

Every trace of blood spread across the terrace vibrated.

Valeria raised both hands.

"Don’t let it—"

Too late.

The red stains lifted from the stone.

Not toward Valeria.

Toward the Mirehorn.

Dozens of droplets crossed the air and began covering its wounds like a second skin.

The blood hardened over the exposed flank.

Coagulation Control.

Raven watched.

Useful.

Very useful.

The system appeared.

«"Compatible organism detected."

Crimson Mirehorn

Level: 21

Rank: Awakened

Current condition: Critical

Multiple compatible Traits detected.»

Before Raven could open the list, the wall behind the creature exploded.

Not literally.

Something black tore through the brush on the upper terrace and dropped.

The Mirehorn tried to turn.

Didn’t make it.

A jaw closed around its neck.

CRUNCH.

Valeria went still.

So did Raven.

What had emerged from the forest was bigger than the Mirehorn.

Much bigger.

A quadruped nearly thirteen feet from snout to hip, low and broad, with a heavy tail dragging across the stone.

Its entire back was covered in overlapping black plates that resembled wet obsidian.

Its front legs ended in five thick claws.

Its head was too wide and had no visible eyes from the front.

Three small pairs opened along the sides of its skull, protected beneath bony ridges.

The jaw was the worst part.

It extended almost halfway down the neck.

Two rows of serrated teeth held the Mirehorn.

The injured creature tried to defend itself.

Its horns struck the black chest.

One snapped.

The predator didn’t even step back.

It shook its head.

The Mirehorn’s spine gave way with a dry crack.

Valeria stepped forward.

"The Core!"

Raven caught her by the forearm.

"Stay."

She turned on him furiously.

"It just killed our target."

"And it can do the same to you."

The black creature released the Mirehorn.

For one second, everything remained still.

Then the interface appeared in front of Raven.

Larger than any before it.

«"HIGH-THREAT ORGANISM DETECTED"

Species: Blackmaw Tyrant

Level: 34

Existence Rank: ELITE

Threat Classification: C

Host Level: 5

Existence Rank disparity: SEVERE

Recommendation: DO NOT ENGAGE»

Raven read the last line.

"Finally, advice from the system I agree with."

Valeria never took her eyes off the Mirehorn.

"The Crimson Blood Core can survive for a considerable time after death."

"Excellent. We can come back after that thing dies of old age."

"That’s not how it works."

"I was aware."

The Blackmaw lowered its head toward the corpse.

It didn’t start eating flesh.

First, it opened the wounds.

Its tongue was black, long, and split into three tips.

The Mirehorn’s blood began to move.

Not because of magic from the corpse.

Because of the predator.

It flowed directly from the wounds into its mouth.

Valeria’s expression changed.

"That isn’t normal feeding behavior."

Raven watched the black plates.

Thin red lines began glowing between them.

"No."

The system expanded its analysis.

«Observed Trait activity: "Blood Furnace"

Converts ingested magical blood into mana, physical reinforcement, and regenerative energy.»

Raven released Valeria’s arm.

"Worse."

She could guess enough without seeing the screen.

"It feeds on blood mana."

"And you’re practically made of the expensive version."

Valeria gave him a look.

"Thank you."

"You’re welcome."

The Blackmaw finished drinking.

Wounds along one side began to close.

Not fast enough to look like an illusion.

Fast enough to watch.

Flesh knitting together.

Plates growing back.

«Observed Trait: "Predatory Regeneration"»

Raven filed that away.

Level 34 Elite.

Natural armor.

Regeneration.

The ability to convert magical blood into energy.

And Valeria was a mage whose primary weapon involved throwing magically empowered blood at her enemies.

An unpleasantly perfect coincidence.

The Blackmaw opened its jaws and tore away part of the Mirehorn’s torso.

Valeria’s hand tightened.

Raven saw it.

"No."

"It’s destroying the Core."

"If you attack without knowing how it works, it’ll probably destroy you too."

"I can pierce that armor."

"Maybe. Then we get to find out what happens when you inject half a liter of mana-charged blood into something with a Trait called Blood Furnace."

Valeria looked at him.

She didn’t like that.

That didn’t make it wrong.

"Then give me another option."

"I don’t have one yet."

"Raven."

"I can make something up fast or I can come up with something good. Pick one."

The Blackmaw raised its head.

Blood dripped from its teeth.

One of its six eyes found the group.

Predator’s Instinct hit Raven hard enough to tighten every muscle in his body.

"It picked for us."