Bloodline Detector

After Lucas used the function, a trace of blood appeared on his fingertips. This blood looked real, but at the same time, it appeared as if it were just an illusion. It was mysterious, surreal, and ethereal.

Lucas marveled at the sight of it. His heart palpitated as he felt the intense aura it contained within that drop of blood provided by the system.

He dragged the blood and dropped it toward the Gentle Dog.

The Gentle Dog was still looking at him curiously. Its gaze was still emitting the warm light of the Gentle Gaze skill. It was if the drop of blood did not affect it a bit, having shown no reaction after Lucas made the action.

However, Lucas himself knew that the deed was done as he looked at the progress bar that appeared on his system screen. And only in a few seconds did the progress bar end and disappear, followed by new information that Lucas immediately read.

[Gentle Dog: Tracing bloodline…

Bloodlines detected: Cerberus, Fenrir, Kirin, Fire Dragon, Light Dragon, Winged Earth Dragon, Cryptic Worm, Green Butterfly, Rabbit… ]

Lucas was dizzy looking at the list of bloodlines that were traced to the Gentle Dog.

'What the heck is this? Are you sure you're testing the same dog?' Lucas could not help but comment inwardly.

The top contained formidable creatures he only heard of from myths and legends from his previous life.

The bloodline from Cerberus and Fenrir that he could understand, as one was illustrated as a three-headed dog from Greek mythology, the guard of the underworld, while the other was said to be a monstrous wolf in Norse mythology, both of them looked like, and had a resemblance to, the dogs of the current age.

The Kirin was somewhat understandable as well.

However… 

'Can someone tell me why the bloodline of a dragon is present here? And there is even one more kind!?'

'And more importantly, why is a worm included in the list? There's also a butterfly and a rabbit?'

'What kind of interracial scandal is this!?'

Lucas continued reading the list of bloodlines where the Gentle Dog originated from.

Fish, Black Bee, White Blood Mosqui-

Lucas was bewildered and thought, 'Alright, let's just stop it right there!'

Lucas looked at the Gentle Dog and could not help but say, "Little guy, I must admit, your ancestor is not a dog but a dawg!"

Woof?

The Gentle Dog tilted its head in confusion as if saying, "What are you talking about?"

Lucas shook his head at the clueless expression of his Gentle Dog.

He finally ignored the list of 'formidable' bloodlines of the Gentle Dog and glanced down at the information right below.

[Gentle Dog: 

Grade: Unranked

Rank: Unranked

 Choose one of the skills listed below to inherit. The skills are optimized according to the creature's grade and rank. The skills listed below are the most suitable for the current beast. Please choose wisely. 

Hellhound Manifestation: Temporarily transforms into the Hellhound form. During this transformation, the beast's inner ferocity will be released while its strength and endurance are significantly enhanced.

 Gale Shield: Releases a powerful burst of wind from its body, knocking back enemies and creating a protective barrier of swirling air around it. This barrier can deflect projectiles and reduce the impact of physical attacks.

 Phantom Illusion: Creates two illusory copies of itself, confusing enemies and making it difficult to distinguish the real one. The illusion mimics the beast's movements and attacks, making it harder for opponents to land a successful hit.]

 Lucas smiled from ear to ear as he saw the three skills. Each of them was very powerful, in his opinion, so much so compared to the Gentle Gaze that the Gentle Dog currently has. Well, Gentle Gaze was also powerful, but in a different way.

 Lucas calmed his excitement as he read the description of the skills a few more times.

 Among the three, one was a buff or transformation-type skill that could significantly increase his Gentle Dog's abilities temporarily. The second was a defensive skill, while the other was an illusion skill that could help it escape during a dangerous situation.

 After some deliberation, Lucas decided to choose the Hellhound Manifestation due to some reasons and his current circumstances.

 First of all, they will be entering the school-regulated dungeon tomorrow. Inside the dungeon, they must form teams and work together to kill the dungeon beasts to gain experience points that would help them level up their rank.

 As someone who awakened an Unranked Grade Grimoire and an Unranked Grade Beast, he would surely struggle and would be left behind if he did not have an offensive ability to rely on.

 Although the Hellhound Manifestation was not a direct offensive ability, it allowed his Gentle Dog to enhance its overall attributes, so Lucas thought that it was better than the other two, which were defensive and evasive abilities.

 As for using the two skills for strategic purposes, like making the Gentle Dog use Phantom Illusion, while he himself will go and fight the enemy beast directly. Lucas scrapped this idea as soon as it appeared on his mind due to a lot of reasons.

 The most important reason was that, compared to even the lowest-grade beast with skills, he was as fragile as a piece of glass. It would be foolish to engage them in combat directly with his meager skills and experience.

 Heck, even his father, a man with a robust figure, able to lift a hundred kilograms easily with one hand, does not dare confront an Iron Star 1 Beast head-on, even with the help of his contracted beast. 

 One must note that Iron Star 1 beasts were just a level higher than Unranked beasts like his Gentle Dog.

 Anyway, after deciding on the skill that he wanted the Gentle Dog to inherit, Lucas did not waste any more time and proceeded forward immediately.

 As soon as he clicked on the skill of his choice and then a confirmation, the screen disappeared, and Lucas' gaze was soon attracted to the glowing eyes of the Gentle Dog.

 Different from before, when it was using the Gentle Gaze, the glow emitting from the Gentle Dog's eyes at the moment looked ancient and profound.

 Woof?

 The Gentle Dog looked around in confusion. It stared at Lucas and barked at him again softly. Even though he could not understand what it was saying, Lucas could sense that it looked happy and excited. Lucas also noticed that its size seemed to grow a little bit.

 Meanwhile, Lucas looked at the scene in a dumbfounded manner.

 'Wait! That's it? No more special effects?'

 He thought that since it was a skill inheritance, it would produce world-shaking tremors, create celestial phenomena that would last three days and three nights, and make all the experts in the world look in his direction.

 'Alright, I must admit that I have been reading some fantasy novels recently,' he thought in a self-deprecating way.

 Anyway, after confirming that there were no more special effects, Lucas took out his grimoire and looked at the changes on the second page where the information about the Gentle Dog was listed.

 [Beast: Gentle Dog

Grade: Unranked

Rank: Iron Star 2

Skills: Gentle Gaze, Hellhound Manifestation

 Gentle Gaze:..

Hellhound Manifestation:..

]

 Looking at the new data, Lucas clenched his fist in excitement.

 'It's real!'

 'The Hellhound Manifestation is actually that powerful. It even made the little guy's rank rise two times in a row!'

 Lucas could not hide his excitement as he focused his gaze on the new rank and the new skill of his Gentle Dog.

 Without wasting any more time, Lucas ordered the Gentle Dog to use its new skill.

 The dog replied with a woof before its body burst out into a new form.

 Boom!

 The next moment, Lucas widened his eyes in horror as he shouted desperately, "Stop! Stop! Return!"