C4: Bloodline Extraction

[ Class: Mage ]

[ Class Grade: Ordinary ]

[ Grade Level: 1/9 ]

[ Level Exp: 01/25 ]

[ Spell Library: Flamepalm (Common); Basic Healing (Ultimate) (unusable); Talent Transformation (???) (unusable) ]

Ken had assumed that the third spell he had cast would not be displayed by the world spirit. After all, the spell didn't belong to this world. But seeing it at the end of his library assured him of the truth. The spell was recognized by the world spirit. That meant his plans for this world weren't erroneous in the slightest.

Sitting beside Simm's peacefully sleeping silhouette, Ken felt emotional.

How many years had he wasted, wandering to every corner of this realm?

How many years had he spent looking for a way to break past the Ultimate Rank?

How many friends and family members had been lost to the river of time, unable to advance past the ultimate Rank, unable to stay in it either?

He had lost the count. He could only recall the overwhelming sense of helplessness pervading his very soul each time he had to attend a funeral of an Ultimate-Rank powerhouse whom he treated like family. He could remember the struggles they all went through to come to terms with the fact that there was no higher realm of power, no further ways to increase their lifespan, to heal their damaged body and soul.

And his own desperation had led him to a path no one had succeeded in before. But he, Ken the undefeated, had returned by a fluke. This was a miracle, this was a divine grace, this was a chance to eradicate the curse plaguing their plane!

The grin that had formed on his face only became wider as he examined the rest of his secondary stats. Among the dozen major races, humans were the only ones with zero racial talent. But instead of being at a disadvantage, the humans of this realm had climbed to the position of one of the four High Races, relying on their adaptability, tenacity, and cunning ways. Most humans chose the special class— Mage, in order to keep up with the rest of the races. And Ken had been no exception to that practice in his journey to the peak of magical prowess.

[ Racial Talent: - ]

[ Artificial Talent: Bloodline Extraction (???) (Passive) ]

This was the fruit of his time spent as a dead man. He had used the last remnant of his ability as an ultimate mage to cast the ungradable Talent Transformation spell on himself. This was the path he had chosen to break through the limits of the Ultimate rank, a path that didn't belong to this world.

The only problem was the punishment he had been subjected to by the world spirit. He had lost all of his achievements, abilities, and artificial talents. He had to rely on vague memories to cast basic spells of the common grade. If he wanted to break the limits of the ultimate rank, he would have to reach it again from scratch.

But he remained unphased. The objective wouldn't run anywhere. The delay would not stop him. No matter how many years had passed since his 'death', he should still have friends and families left all over the world. He'd find them, one by one, and make things right with them, especially his wives and concubines whom he missed dearly.

For now though, he had to maintain a low profile. If his family could survive till today, so could his enemies. And as a man who had once dominated this million-mile-wide plane, his enemies were as numerous as the sand grains of Dubhe Desert.

Ken spent the next four hours making sure they weren't being tracked, practicing basic illusion spells using the opportunity. Under his repeated attempts, the bottom of the tree-hole transformed into a messy tunnel filled with vines, thriving insects, spiderwebs that had many day's dusts on their body, and a faint stink of rot.

Of course, he was cautious with the use of spells. His cloaking arrangements might fool those without discerning eyes, but any decent mage could pick out traces of magic if he left out a single gap in the arrangement.

Thankfully, he could still remember the frequently used spells of his past life, especially the ones dealing with magical traces and tracking methods. Despite failing nearly ten times, three spells were successfully cast within the tunnel.

By the time he was done, the sunlight that had been shining through the hollowed trunk had dimmed, turning a deep shade of gold. The night was close. Ken took one last look at the progress he had made throughout the work.

[ Class: Mage ]

[ Class Grade: Ordinary ]

[ Grade Level: 1/9 ]

[ Level Exp: 15/25 ]

[ Spell Library: Reflection Shift (Common); Plant Proliferation (Common); Basic Mental Manipulation (Common); Flamepalm (Common); Basic Healing (Ultimate) (unusable); Talent Transformation (???) (unusable) ]

Reflection shift was the most useful spell in close-quarter combat. It allowed one to shift the light being reflected from multiple objects, replacing one another to confuse the enemy into making a wrong move. He had used this spell to cloak the bottom of the tree-hole as a dead end.

The Plant Proliferation spell had been used to grow the vines and weeds inside the tunnel to further obscure prying gazes. And the insects touring the tunnel had been given simple orders through his Mental Manipulation Spell.

None of these spells would do much if he picked an equal opponent. But here, he was unstoppable.

His stomach rumbled suddenly, reminding him of the fact that he has been reduced to the most basic, naked self any creature on this plane could possibly possess. Unlike the old him who could feed his body the world's raw energy, Ken was now an ordinary man. He needed real food.

While he was debating whether to go out after nightfall to hunt something, he sensed Simm's movements behind. Her satisfied sleep had come to an end.

"Master...I, I feel a bit strange!" she squeaked in a panicked tone.

A new notification popped up on Ken's progression panel while he was making his way to her side.

[ Alert! Passive talent- Bloodline Extraction is in a critical phase of taking effect! ]