Intermediate Knight

At first glance, this looked like a tube of freshly drawn blood. Its vivid color leaned toward arterial blood, but it seemed to have been mixed with a fluorescent agent, giving it a faint bluish glow.

A rich aura of Life Energy swirled within it, shining brilliantly alongside the radiation of Apprentice-level Witchcraft Energy.

"Neanderthal Bloodline..."

Roy muttered to himself.

This was an uncivilized cave-dwelling human species belonging to the human genus, a branch of the ancient barbarians.

Using a special method, wizards extracted hematopoietic Stem Cells from its marrow blood and combined them with Witchcraft Energy to produce this Bloodline Potion.

It could grant ordinary humans the corresponding bloodline, allowing them to gain certain bloodline traits.

In short, it created an Acquired Sorcerer!

This was fundamentally different from the Innate Sorcerers of the outside world, yet their final manifestations bore astonishing similarities.

"It might produce all sorts of inexplicable negative effects due to bloodline conflicts.

However, low-level Bloodline Modification rarely resulted in such situations. Even when it did, it wasn't difficult to deal with.

The reason I chose this human branch instead of other magical creatures or even aberrations was to ensure better compatibility."

Roy briefly recalled the knowledge he had learned in the library, then loaded the potion into an injection device and began performing basic Bloodline Modification on himself.

As the needle pierced his skin, the mechanical self-injecting device inside began to operate, slowly pushing the Bloodline Potion into him.

At first, he only felt a cold current enter his circulation, making his body slightly chilly.

But soon, an inexplicable heat emerged.

After most of the night had passed, he developed a fever like a cold, which gradually subsided only the next morning.

Roy got up and went to the bathroom. Looking at himself in the mirror, he saw that his eyes were bloodshot and his eye sockets dark, giving him a haggard appearance.

However, the restlessness within his body was real. In his normal state, he had already obtained a physique three times that of an ordinary person.

This was strength equivalent to the Intermediate Knight Stage!

Not long afterward, in the training room.

Bang, bang, bang, bang!

Roy swung his mace, smashing the Wood Target with tremendous force completely out of proportion to his build.

In the blink of an eye, he had shattered one target after another with overwhelming ease.

The targets, made from solid pine and fir, seemed like cardboard boxes before his weapon.

And he hadn't even felt like he was exerting himself.

"As expected, my strength has increased dramatically! With adrenaline, I'm comparable to an Advanced Knight!"

Immediately afterward, Roy began running rapidly around the Training Ground.

It was as if an invisible force were pushing his body forward, allowing him to move with incredible speed.

He ran several thousand meters in one breath before beginning to pant slightly, hot sweat emerging across his body.

"My endurance has been enhanced too!"

However, when he tried to sprint another thousand meters at the very end, he suddenly became dizzy and nauseated.

Roy hurriedly slowed down, took a sugar cube he had prepared beforehand from his pocket, and put it in his mouth. Only then did he recover.

"It can basically be confirmed that I now possess the strength of an Intermediate Knight in my normal state and an Advanced Knight in my burst state.

If I exert myself fully, I might be able to push this body even further and reach the true state of a berserk barbarian!

However, the consumption has clearly increased as well."

After basically confirming this, he left the training room and returned to his residence to continue working.

In fact, Bloodline Modification during the Apprentice Stage was generally only done superficially. Apprentices had limited knowledge and resources, and could often only rely on Bloodline Potions refined by others.

But upon reaching the Formal Wizard stage, one's bloodline began to grow more complex, and every Bloodline Potion had to be specially customized.

That would allow others to glimpse the secrets of one's body and might even give them control over one's fatal weaknesses.

Wizards generally preferred to refine them themselves, or else abandon this path and switch to various options more compatible with the Witchcraft they practiced.

For that very reason, Roy wasn't particularly worried about the various aftereffects and negative states of this body.

After all, it had never been his body to begin with. Sooner or later, he would have to replace it with a better one if he got the chance.

The key was having sufficient capital. Only with capital could one have choices.

"Next is the Hair Ghost Witch Body I modified earlier.

If the Neanderthal Bloodline is a foundational enhancement rooted in the flesh, then this hair contains Law Residue and is rooted in the soul!

This is a true long-term investment!"

It was said that Supernatural Power had to return to oneself to become true power.

The flesh was actually false in many situations, belonging to the category of External Objects.

For many Advanced Wizards, the spirit and soul were the true essence.

That was why the Hair Ghost Witch Body was considered a long-term investment.

Roy had already begun studying Aquena Magic Gold last time, but due to limited resources, he had failed to refine the Law Residue.

This time, however, he suddenly had plenty of money on hand.

He spent more than a thousand magic stones buying all kinds of materials and potions, experimenting again and again.

During the waiting period for the Bloodline Modification, he had already achieved his first results.

That afternoon.

"I finally extracted it!"

Roy was filled with delight as he poured the solution containing the Law Residue into a beaker. After filtering it several times, he mixed it into Hair Growth Cream and recited the activation spell.

"..."

Just like when he had refined the Hair Ghost Bloodline Potion previously, the Hair Growth Cream began writhing like a living creature.

Roy grabbed the mass of gelatinous material and smeared it onto his hair. His already jet-black, lustrous hair became even shinier.

That evening, he had a servant bring him a basin of fresh sheep's blood. Eagerly, he shut the door and urged his hair to grow.

The hair extended like black tentacles and reached into the basin.

In an instant, a faint red mist spread out, almost imperceptible, silently merging into it.

The originally jet-black hair inexplicably took on hints of golden cyan.

"It really worked.

This is the property of Aquena Magic Gold!

From now on, it will be able to absorb Mysterious Energy from fresh blood and gain metallic properties!

Moreover, it can freely switch between softness and hardness, making the strands even tougher and stronger!"

Roy tried tugging at his hair. After applying a little force, he pulled a strand apart from the middle.

But the resistance was clearly greater than before.

This was exactly the growth potential he needed!

He then activated the Hair Ghost Witch Body again. His long hair surged like roiling black clouds, carrying a golden-cyan baleful aura as it grew wildly.

Moments later, it had reached three meters in length, hanging in the air like a Black Serpent and drifting behind his head.

Spiritual Power surged. His hair suddenly stiffened, and the front half-meter shot in every direction like thousands of iron spikes!

Pfft! Pfft!

The tables, chairs, counters, and bedboards were all pierced through.

Even the walls were stabbed with numerous clearly visible pits.

"Pretty good!"

Roy smiled in satisfaction.

"I just wonder how many enemies I'll have to kill and how much blood I'll have to absorb before it reaches true Magic Gold toughness.

That will probably be its mature form, right?"