Bloodline Inheritance

Charlotte was secretly a little surprised at the sight.

At first, she had only felt that among the four spellcasters present, she, Elaine, and Ulshi were all clearly showing signs of insufficient magic power. Only Lynn still looked as though he had plenty to spare.

Linking that to his miraculous ability to dissolve Rigel's corrupted flesh, Charlotte guessed that he had some special means of converting magic power, allowing him to maintain a good magical state. At present, he also seemed to be the only one capable of activating the "Heart of Nature."

But she had not expected Lynn's performance to far exceed her expectations!

That surging magic power was poured into the "Heart of Nature," and the domain instantly expanded to a range of more than ten meters, only slightly weaker than the effect she had produced earlier in the mountain valley.

But one had to understand, this youth was the same as Elaine—he was only an Apprentice Mage!

For a moment, the green light of the "Heart of Nature" clashed once more with the eerie red glow emanating from Rigel's body.

The scene of this standoff was exactly the same as what had happened in the valley earlier.

Only this time, Rigel clearly lacked the strength to continue. Most of the flesh on his body had already been stripped away, leaving only his twisted, sickly original body and the flesh of the two Magic Wolves that had just fused into him to hold on bitterly.

Lynn only felt that his magic pool, which had originally been almost overflowing, was emptied by half all at once.

Gritting his teeth, he forced himself to endure the sudden hollow discomfort inside his body. The two Frost Rings also shattered silently, and he focused all his attention on guiding the Heart's domain to resist Rigel.

At last, the emerald-green domain of the "Heart of Nature" gained the upper hand and gradually enveloped Rigel's entire body.

He immediately let out scream after scream. The surface of his body looked as if it had been scorched by flames, and filthy black smoke rose from him in waves.

At the same time, his body stopped swelling. The magic power that had originally been accumulating inside him, attempting to erupt, was corrected by the "Heart of Nature" and slipped free of his control.

They had originally belonged to those Demonic Beasts used as sacrifices, but their owners' bodies no longer existed, so they were ownerless things.

Drawn by inspiration, Lynn gathered the Magic Web, and strands woven from purple starlight probed into Rigel's body, wantonly drawing out that ownerless magic power.

For a time, powerful magic power poured into his magic pool, then was continuously delivered to the "Heart of Nature."

That emerald-green domain grew even stronger!

Charlotte's blue eyes widened abruptly. How was this possible? How much magic power did he still have?

This was simply not an effect an Apprentice Mage could possibly achieve...

She subconsciously turned her wolf head and looked toward Elaine, whose gaze was likewise constantly moving between Lynn and the battlefield.

Only to see Elaine's expression rapidly change from brief confusion to surprise, and even pride...

?

Charlotte could not understand what her reaction was supposed to mean.

How could she know that Elaine's little heart was now filled entirely with joy and pride toward Lynn, toward the Magic Web, and toward the great inheritance she imagined stood behind Lynn?

At this moment, Elaine had already subconsciously regarded herself and Lynn as a community of shared fate connected by the Magic Web.

When one prospered, all prospered.

Besides, with Elaine's experience, she could more or less see that the Magic Web's development potential was extremely enormous!

At the thought that she was very likely the first member of the Magic Web in Lynn's hands, she could not help feeling even happier.

Even though she was on a battlefield right now, the corners of her lips still lifted involuntarily into a smile.

All these subtle changes in her expression were taken in by Charlotte, but with the situation still undecided, Charlotte could not directly ask for clarification. She could only quietly suppress her thoughts, preparing to properly interrogate this good friend who had grown up with her once they returned.

Lynn, standing at the center of the battlefield, naturally had no idea what his teammates were thinking. He was only focused on the "Heart of Nature," sensing the strange magical power contained within it.

In a daze, he even gained a trace of enlightenment.

Could it be that this world's so-called life energy was actually some manifestation of magic power?

Because Elaine had joined the Magic Web, his affinity for Life Magic had increased, and coupled with his deep contact with the "Heart of Nature," a great deal of inexplicable knowledge gradually appeared in his mind.

Lynn did not dare examine it now, afraid he would sink into it all at once. He hurriedly focused his mind and looked toward Rigel.

Within the emerald-green domain, Rigel's blood-red light had already been completely suppressed.

The magic power he had plundered from the sacrifices within his body had also been drawn clean by Lynn, so that "outer garment" made of melted flesh dripped down like flowing viscous liquid.

Very soon, only his original body was left standing.

That body had long since lost its shape, like a rubber doll casually kneaded and bent by a clumsy child. On top of that, all his previous injuries had been forcibly pinched together, and under the correction of the domain, they were beaten back to their original state.

He almost fell apart all at once, turning into a heap of rotten meat.

Celine flicked her spear and struck him in the face. That head, with its facial features all mashed together, immediately flew out.

After all, his head had already been cut off by Celine before, and after he became undead, he had forcefully attached it back on himself.

The remaining magic power inside Rigel immediately lost control. Lynn raised his hand, preparing to launch the final attack.

At this moment, Charlotte suddenly blocked his path, turning her wolf head toward Lynn as she said, "Don't attack yet."

After steadying Lynn, she swiftly turned her body and charged to Rigel's side, raising one front claw.

Pchh—

Her enormous wolf claw plunged straight into Rigel's chest. Because of the influence of that bloody scent, even her deep-blue eyes were stained with a trace of crimson.

Ignoring the other party's screams, Charlotte, transformed into a Magic Wolf, became especially cold and ruthless. She easily cut open the dripping flesh and dug out Rigel's heart.

Lynn's pupils constricted slightly. Through the blur, he saw that the heart seemed somewhat abnormal.

Half was corrupted flesh; the other half had a jade-like texture, reflecting the moonlight.

As the heart left his body, Rigel completely lost all signs of life.

Charlotte carried the heart back to Lynn's side and said in a low voice, "It's done..."

Hearing that, Lynn controlled the Magic Web and wrapped Rigel's body completely, draining every last trace of mana from within him.

That way, even if the Heart of Nature's domain disappeared, there was no way he could revive again in the form of an undead.

Only then did Lynn let out a soft breath as he looked at that shriveled body.

He looked toward Charlotte and saw that at some point, she had already released her Magic Wolf form. Her expression was somewhat dim.

"Can the domain be dispelled now?" Lynn asked her.

Only then did Charlotte come back to herself. She raised the twisted heart in her hand, far larger than an ordinary person's, and said softly, "There's still this."

As she spoke, she exerted strength with both hands, peeling apart the flesh-and-blood portion of the heart from the jade-like part. Then she threw that mass of rotting flesh onto the ground, her eyes fixed on the clump of meat that was still writhing nonstop.

Lynn immediately understood and used Mana Drain to suck its mana dry.

With that, Rigel had been killed completely.

The domain was dispelled, and Lynn returned the Heart of Nature to Charlotte.

On Charlotte's side, Elaine had already walked over and cast the cantrip [Create Water]. Gurgling clear water flowed from the tip of her staff, washing clean the jade in Charlotte's hand, which had been covered in filthy blood.

Only then did Lynn discover that it was actually a fragment that looked extremely similar to the Heart of Nature.

Only, upon the emerald green, a dark red color had corroded it.

Sensing Lynn's gaze, that dark red color suddenly began to flow, peeling itself away from the fragment and condensing into a mass.

Lynn blinked, confirming that this strange scene was real. But at the same time, he also discovered that Charlotte and Elaine had no particular reaction to it.

Could it be that they couldn't see this layer of dark red?

Just then, the Codex of Origin appeared out of thin air, its pages turning open on their own.

[Your soul is awakening! You will receive an ancient inheritance!]

[Do you wish to accept the Bloodline inheritance of the Dark Elf?]