Bloodline Enhancement

Nothing happened that night.

The next day was Wednesday.

The streak of clear weather that had lasted for days abruptly came to an end. The sky was somewhat overcast, and the air was thick with moisture. Lightning flashed and thunder rumbled in the distance, bolts of lightning rising and falling like dragons.

There was now a black umbrella in Colin's black backpack. He put on his leather shoes and walked out the door, only to hear Linda's voice behind him.

"Good luck, Colin."

"Got it, Sis." Colin tightened the straps of his backpack and strode toward Will Knight Academy.

As usual, the closer he got to the academy, the more students in the same uniform as him appeared. Colin was as inconspicuous as a drop of water merging into a great river.

Before long, Colin arrived at the Fifth Class classroom. Many of his classmates were already there, either sitting quietly at their desks or gathered in small groups talking.

As Colin entered, the classroom suddenly fell quiet. Most of the students looked up at him, their gazes somewhat strange.

Brian looked up at Colin and openly revealed a contemptuous smile. As Colin passed by him, Brian snorted through his nose. "Hmph."

Colin ignored the guy, though he found the atmosphere in the classroom somewhat strange. He went to his desk, stuffed his backpack inside, then took an exquisite little gift box from his pocket and handed it to Bill beside him.

"Bill, this is a gift I brought back from Kent City." Colin smiled. Inside was an exquisite copper ring. It was nothing precious, merely a token of his affection.

"Thanks, Colin." Bill reluctantly put on an expression of surprise. He accepted the gift box but did not open it immediately, instead slipping it into his pocket. Then he whispered to Colin, "Colin, you took leave to go to Kent City these past few days. Brian has been telling everyone that you're a coward—that you ran away in disgrace after your bloodline enhancement failed."

"Let him say whatever he wants." Colin shrugged slightly. He was in an exceptionally good mood, and such trivial matters could not affect him at all.

Bill had originally felt sorry for Colin, but seeing how broad-minded he was, his own mood improved as well. He quietly asked, "You seem to be in a good mood. Did something wonderful happen in Kent City?"

"Nothing in particular. I just saw many mages, those strange people hidden inside robes. It felt like an eye-opening experience." Colin chuckled.

Bill froze. He was happy just because of that? Still, he believed Colin and smiled as well. "That's true. Mages are rarely seen in Will City."

School continued as usual. It was just that Bill and Colin, already two marginalized brothers-in-arms in the class, became even more marginalized.

Nothing special happened that day. Brian and Chal merely mocked them a few times.

After class, Colin and Bill said goodbye to each other. Colin then carried his backpack home. As usual, Linda came out to greet him, kissing and hugging him.

Not long afterward, Smith returned from work as well. During dinner, Smith and Linda still exchanged stories about their day, while Colin rarely interrupted.

After dinner, Colin and Smith left the kitchen work to Linda as usual and walked off without a care. After washing up, Colin went upstairs to lie down in his bedroom. Only after the dead of night did he secretly take out the Magic Pharmaceutical Apparatus and the ingredients and begin brewing a Basic Strength Potion.

This time, he succeeded and gained 1 Energy Point. He immediately converted the Energy Point into a Skill Point and added it to Basic Strength Potion Crafting.

His skill thus became (Proficient).

Having obtained the result he wanted, Colin fell asleep peacefully in high spirits.

Thursday and Friday were both ordinary school days, with nothing special happening. Brian and Chal still mocked him a few times.

His potion crafting failed on Thursday. On Friday night, Colin brewed another Basic Strength Potion, collected its energy, and raised Basic Strength Potion Crafting to (Perfect).

Nothing special happened on Saturday, except that Linda had the day off and stubbornly dragged Colin out shopping with her. They returned with bags upon bags of household supplies.

Colin voiced no opinions throughout the entire trip. He merely acted as a porter, carrying all the bags home.

After Colin's Basic Strength Potion Crafting reached Perfect, his potion-making success rate reached one hundred percent. On Saturday night, he brewed another Basic Strength Potion.

The same happened on Sunday night.

Late at night, the sky was pitch-black and rain fell outside. The rain was light, as fine as silkworm thread, yet it fell without end and was exceedingly bothersome.

Colin drew back the blue curtains and opened the window, allowing the medicinal smell in the room to drift outside. Then he picked up the finished Basic Strength Potion.

The Basic Strength Potion in the glass container glowed an enchanting blood-red. Colin smiled faintly at the sight, then had the system absorb its energy.

The potion in the glass container vanished into thin air, leaving only the container behind. Colin set it down, took off his slippers, sat on the old wooden floor, and opened the system interface.

The system's Energy field had now become 2.

Without hesitation, Colin converted 2 Energy Points into 1 Bloodline Point.

Then he used that 1 Bloodline Point to enhance his bloodline.

According to the notes written on that sheet of paper:

"After consumption, there is a ninety percent chance of enhancing the bloodline."

"It tastes extremely bitter. Be sure to drink it in one gulp."

"After consumption, severe pain and convulsions will occur. The immense pain may cause unconsciousness. Staying awake will increase the chances of enhancement. Losing consciousness makes failure more likely."

However, after adding points through the system, Colin encountered no problems at all. Once it was over, though, his body felt sticky. Looking down, he saw disgusting black substances seeping out of his body, giving off a foul odor, just like in martial arts novels.

After consuming a miraculous medicine, it was like "cleansing the marrow and forging the bones."

Not bothering to consider whether it was truly the same thing, Colin opened the system interface.

Colin Russell

Class: Novice Knight.

Vitality: 2 (+1)

Intelligence: 5

Strength: 3 (+2)

Agility: 3

Bloodline: Black Bear Bloodline (Ordinary) Note: Enhancement requires 1 Bloodline Point

Bloodline Effects: Strength +2, Vitality +1

Skills: Roer Military Swordsmanship (Poor) Note: Enhancement requires 1 Skill Point, Riding (Proficient) Enhancement requires 1 Skill Point, Basic Alchemy, Basic Strength Potion Crafting (Perfect) Note: Enhancement requires 1 Skill Point.

Unallocated Attribute Points: 0 Note: 1 Energy can be converted into 1 Attribute Point.

Unallocated Skill Points: 0 Note: 1 Energy can be converted into 1 Skill Point. Note: Skill Points can also be used to learn skills.

Unallocated Bloodline Points: 0 Note: 2 Energy can be converted into 1 Bloodline Point.

Energy: 0 Note: Energy can be converted into Attribute Points, Skill Points, and Bloodline Points. Unused Attribute Points, Skill Points, and Bloodline Points can also be converted into Energy.

Note: All items possessing magical power can be used to collect Energy.

Status: Healthy.

Colin looked up at the Bloodline field. Seeing Black Bear Bloodline (Ordinary), Bloodline Effects: Strength +2, Vitality +1, the corners of his mouth curled upward slightly.

"Who said my bloodline enhancement failed?"