C27: Driving A Hard Bargain

That evening, the other three umbilical cords caught on fire as well, and Ken had the opportunity to witness the incident directly.

It happened right when the world spirit finally decided that his children, the three who had just broken through to level 2 that noon, were no longer capable of coping with the unnatural leveling up.

[ Alert: The child's natural growth has been interfered with by foreign influence. The forced level increase has failed to assimilate the attributes of the child's lacking physique. Strong rejection has been detected. Assessing condition... ]

This familiar alert popped up above all three children, who were playing together chaotically, fairly unconcerned about the world around them.

[ A strong bloodline passage has been detected between the child and its parents, perfectly suitable for attribute transmission. Activating passageway...Establishing connection... ]

"It's happening! Look!"

Surata practically broke into the room at this moment, carrying in her arms three boxes made out of glass, inside which the severed cords were floating within semi-transparent liquid preservatives. All three were now alight with green flames. But this fire didn't seem to be burning the cords to ashes. In fact, the cords appeared absolutely fine and well-preserved.

She placed the boxes near the cribs and watched with rapt attention, as if she too could see the progression panels blinking over the children's heads.

[ Alert: Artificial Talent- Bloodline Extraction has been charged. Extracting...]

[ Strength (+0.2); Speed (+0.1); Stamina (+0.25); Dexterity (+0.2); Magic Affinity (+0.25) ]

[ Extraction complete. Examine your secondary panels to see the changes. ]

.

Ken almost staggered from the sudden outburst of vitality rolling through his body. This wave of enhancement was nearly comparable to the time he had broken through to level 4 in terms of Physique! 1 whole point of enhancements spread across 5 stats were nothing to make light of.

Thankfully, healer Surata was so overtaken by her curiosity at the flame-covered umbilical cords that she didn't even notice the changes in Ken and Simm's life force. Otherwise, it would not have been difficult for her to guess what was going on, because she eventually pointed out the rapid deterioration of the children's level.

"See?! Just like your other son, Kenshi! These children were closing up on level 2 with their crazy vitality, but now it's settling down! Their bodies have rejected further changes and are in the process of adapting to a quasi-level between level 1 and level 2."

Ken went through their progression panels while Surata muttered medical jargon to herself trying to rationalize this whole development.

All four children now showed the status [ Level: 1(2) ] in their primary panel. In the secondary panel, it became clear that just like Kenshi, the other three children had also only managed to absorb 0.1 Enhancement Points per attribute. The numbers they were supposed to reach in level 2 were still there, standing by the currently reduced stats like a series of potential to live up to.

Ken then checked his own stats, feeling the seething energy of the world spirit inside his body disappearing slowly.

[ Level 4 ] [ Warrior Class: Locked ]

[Exp: 0104/1250 ]

[Attributes: Strength (1.55); Speed (1.25); Stamina (1.90); Dexterity (0.25); Magic Affinity (4.30) ]

If Surata wasn't standing ten feet away, Ken would have shouted in jubilance!

It was working! Just one level of increase among his children, the lowest possible level too, and his own stats had taken such a massive leap! Ken could sense it in his body. His muscles, bones, and tendons felt sturdier, easier to control and exert power with; he could even fight a beginner warrior relying on purely physical attributes at this point.

And he wasn't the only beneficiary of this reversion. Simm, who was already improving by leaps and bounds after recovering from childbirth, would also enjoy the benefits of another boost. She was already on the border of the Mutant Rank. Returning to her peak form was just a matter of time and training.

No words were exchanged between husband and wife as they cooperated seamlessly to keep up the act of curious, but unsurprised observers. They could tell that their feigned apathy towards the inexplicable growth of the children was driving Surata nuts. A method as mind-boggling as the Bloodline Extraction talent could probably make even the most powerful vampire clans go crazy. The more concerned Surata acted, the more apprehensive they became about the extent of her greed.

The night passed with anxiety on both sides. The subject of the anxiety, the children, were clueless. They had grown enough to be able to differentiate between voices and scents. Kenshi took a liking to Surata's gentleness and reverent handling, preferring to be carried in her arms over Ken, much to his dismay. Juko and Mishka were clingier toward Simm, and only Kyma became relatively more attached to Ken.

The next morning, Ken sensed his burnout counter dropping past 20 failures again. Deciding to return to his ambush training, Ken helped Simm put the children to sleep after an early breakfast. Surata, who had spent a sleepless night examining the children and the burning umbilical cords, followed him out of the hideout.

"No longer interested in observing the mana movement around the cords?" Ken asked her while looking for a new target to cast spells on amidst the flourishing flora.

"Anything of interest ceased to exist when the flames on them died. I can't figure out the connection they have with your children, being the meagerly skilled expert I am. What I can tell is that all four children are now positioned between level 1 and 2, and despite losing out on the major portion of enhancements, the original speed of their growth hasn't diminished. This failed level increase has only furthered the potential of their speedy growth. Not only will they keep growing at an accelerated pace like before, but the aspect of recovering a lost physique will also be added to the momentum."

Ken gave her a blank, unreadable look that probably added fuel to the fire of her climbing frustration. Surata began to fidget restlessly as his focus shifted back to his training plan. He knew she had something else to say, only that she was weighing whether she should say it or not.

"Hey, little mage, I have an offer that might interest you," she finally said. Ken fully shifted his attention back to her and prepared himself to drive a hard bargain.

"Speak."

"Sell me one of your kids."

"...."

Well, that was difficult to bargain over.