Born in Blood



A week quickly passed, and Liam hadn't exited his basement in that period, cultivating, inscribing, forging.

Littered all around him were failed inscribed blades, broken pieces of Owl bones and other materials.

Liam had a crazed smile and a bloodshot eye as he inspected a silver dagger with his blood inscriptions on it. 

It was an actual success.

The blood writings on the blade glowed with interchanging red, orange and yellow. 

The glow was constant, and there was no weak flickering that disrupted the light it exuded.

Liam was on his 27th dagger when the damn thing finally started working. 

'Do I go to Richard and get the rewards for it? It's 10K Stones, after all…' Liam pursed his lips. 

'Probably best not to. There's enough attention on me as is. I can make that money fairly quick anyway.'

Then, Liam moved to inspect his latest forged item, the Owl Dagger. 

It was much sharper compared to his previous inventions, but Liam had to sacrifice the aesthetics and size to achieve that outcome, making it easier for him to imbue the will inside.

However, his experience had started to show through his products, as the dagger was sturdy enough to be used in a real battle. 

Still, he hadn't had the chance to test if it worked or not. 

'This is my twelfth try. It better work.'

Fighting so many Rank 2 Twilight Owls was starting to weigh against his mind, after all. 

Not to mention the sheer amount of times he had to refine his blood and repeat his inscription process. 

He needed rest.

After a short pause, Liam imbued the blade with 'Ora'. 

Wisps of smoke started to ooze out from the dagger, like the sputtering of a flame. Weakly, it continued doing so, but the dark vapor increased in intensity.

By the end, it started flowing naturally. A success!

A broad smile formed on Liam's face. 

CRACK!

Then the blade shattered to dust, as Liam didn't realize he was continuously imbuing it with 'Ora' to make the effect work.

With a sigh, Liam chucked the blade into the broken and shattered pile.

By then, he'd expended all the magical beast corpses he bought using his remaining money. 

'It's still a good start. It's time I rest and get a breath of fresh air.'

Liam cleaned up his basement and bathed, before testing his progress with the Dark Wraith body. 

Liam stretched both hands. By command, they turned into ethereal black mist.

The next day, he left his lodging with a set of clean clothes and slightly restored complexion.

Instantly, he made his way towards the Battle Halls.

'It's about time I start making some money.'

///

Time passed.

Liam's studies continued in all topics.

His cultivation was steadily rising, and so was his knowledge of it. He even felt halfway close to the solid stage.

Liam basically knew everything there was about the Mortal ranks, with lesser understanding of the Zenith and Celestial powers.

His knowledge of magical beasts and the like also grew, and his battle prowess exponentially increased. 

Despite his classmates growing stronger beside him, Liam's score was still undefeated.

Each day, his inscriptions and forging was growing more complex and difficult, but so did his experience in the field.

The person who won first place in Richard's enhancement assignment was Nessa, who successfully completed the exercise in two weeks. 

Everyone looked at her proud figure with new gazes of reverence, and Richard profusely praised her for the accomplishment. 

Only after a good part of the class handed in theirs, so did Liam.

Meanwhile, Liam's infamous reputation grew like wildfire – the Golden-Eyed Vagrant fought anybody in the Battle Halls, even second-years older than him. 

None won.

Liam had to try just a bit harder against those students, but still held himself back. 

In total, he had gained 11K Stones from wagering alone, making back the reward money he didn't receive.

It helped that nobles were so easily offended and quick-tempered. 

Using their fragile egos, Liam didn't duel unless offered a hefty sum of money. It was apparent that Nord did the same.

Like so, a month passed, and it was time for Liam to receive his mission from the Headmaster.

He left his dwelling early in the morning, bathed and donned black-clad clothes.

As he walked towards the Academic Hall, his token started glowing. 

Liam's gaze narrowed.

'I don't like where this is goi—'

Liam couldn't complete his thought, before his surroundings changed.

He was on the floor of the Headmasters office, staring at the wooden ceiling above. 

A cold pressure slowly grew from Liam's figure. It was the fourth bloody time he was dragged to another location against his will. 

The Headmaster cleared his throat, and Liam retracted his mental waves.

"What is it this time?" said Liam, steadying off the floor.

Reye looked displeased at his words, but he sighed and shook his head.

"Your mission… and something I needed to talk to you about."

Liam raised a brow.

Reye adjusted the golden monocle on his eye and began speaking.

"The Korsan continent is foreign to us. And so are its inhabitants. We have too little knowledge about them, since any sort of spying is blocked by the thick black clouds that loom above their lands."

Liam nodded. 

The black clouds were somewhat of an anomaly. It hung over the entirety of Korsa, basking those lands in a perpetual state of darkness.

"We've been wanting to go there for a while now, to scour their lands... but we can't do it officially. It'll look like we're invading their lands, and war isn't a favorable outcome."

Liam hummed noncommittally. 

"Your point being?"

Reye sighed, then hardened his gaze.

"We want you to assemble a small group and embark on an expedition there. You won't have to fight anyone, just document the lands and study the lifeforms. You can pick anybody you like, and you'll also be the one to lead them. Don't give me that look, it'll obviously come with rewards."