Worthy, Or Not Worthy?

Stepping into the ancient temple, Edrick was greeted by darkness and distant bioluminescent patches of moss. He walked forward, watchful of his steps in case the Magus-King had integrated trap evasion into the requirement to acquire his treasure… But there were no deadly contraptions awaiting the noble.

He merely walked through the darkness and was quickly greeted by a staircase descending deeper into the realm. Apart from this, the temple seemed to be nothing but a vast, empty, and dusty space. It was only decorated by the natural growth of plants, which strangely seemed not to require sunlight at all… Anoteros had not smelled any Nature-Blessed Wolves in the surroundings, so considering that these plants looked to be the same as those outside–Something must be nourishing them.

The scion had an idea what it could be…

He got to the great staircase–It went far deeper than one would have thought, truly descending into the depths of Eltysia.

‘That’s not the way I had imagined getting into Eltysia’s insides…’

Eventually, he reached a wide room illuminated only by the faint light of a cracked mana crystal. It cast a blue glow onto a pedestal, placing it into the limelight.

There was nothing else of interest to be seen, so Edrick approached the pedestal, getting a clearer view of what was placed upon it. It held a familiar kind of item... Slightly floating above the pedestal was a sphere bigger than the average apple. It was a crimson sphere, and if the appearance alone wasn’t enough… Edrick’s instincts told him very clearly what it was.

His bloodline resonated strongly with the sphere. It was the physical manifestation of a perfectly preserved bloodline–The bloodline of Magus-King Daladerium. It wasn’t clear whether Anoteros was the first to get here, or if others had preceded him and failed to integrate the bloodline. However, he felt the former was more likely, since the bloodline was truly intact.

The noble looked around.

‘Well… No point in delaying it, I guess... I really am on a streak with bloodlines. My Valra will lose her mind with how many bloodlines I have. I could definitely get a career as a breeding bull with so many of those’

He reached out and grabbed the sphere.

Something coursed throughout every drop of blood within his body. Before he could even blink, he found himself standing on a tranquil, mirror-like body of water that extended into the horizon.

More surprisingly, however, was that he wasn’t in his new body, but in his old body–As his youthful self of his former world. He was dressed in a nice suit, with his hair slicked back. It felt odd to go back to this body after so long, but he couldn’t dwell too much on this…

He quickly understood where he was. This was where he had intruded upon to take over Zixuan Elt’s body by slaying the young man’s soul, spirit, or whatever else it might have been… The place was no longer the same, though. It had been changed to suit the new owner of the body.

The sun hovering in the sky was pale, and the structure that the true Zixuan Elt had been in was gone entirely, replaced by Edrick’s final and favourite place of residence within the former world: A cosy house of horrors… The exact place he had slain his last true victims if the people guarding him at the last trial were excluded.

He had not exactly been subtle about these last few killings. He had thoroughly enjoyed them, knowing that the trail of evidence he had intentionally left behind would lead the authorities directly to him.

This sight brought back fond memories… But it was time to address the elephant in the room, or in this case–The Paraceratherium Magus looming over him.

It looked similar to all others of its kind, but just like Deladeri, this one was noticeably larger compared to normal. More notably, its armour-like skin would sometimes shine mana-blue.

“I have awaited a successor for a long time. I had figured that it wouldn’t be a member of my own kind, but a human? I did not realise that your kind were present within the realm... Regardless, you have solid and vast non-physical bodies, even if it is quite bizarre how different you look here compared to reality…”

The Paraceratherium Magus was definitely Daladerium. He analysed every aspect of Anoteros in great detail for several long minutes before leaning forward.

“You are an interesting and powerful youngster. You certainly seem like a good fit to inherit my treasures”

“Treasures? There isn’t just the bloodline?”

“Indeed. My bloodline is potent, but it would simply feel… Lacking on its own, you see? Therefore, if you are able to integrate my bloodline, you will also receive a cultivation technique I created myself while waiting for an inheritor”

“You shall see it for yourself if you get there… I am rather confident in your chances, however… I only have a few more things to say. You must have met my descendant, Deladeri, on the way there, yes?”

“Indeed”

“If you can integrate my bloodline, she will follow you no matter what. Treat her as an additional reward… However, I must make you swear an oath with me. As much of a beast as she and I are, we are intelligent. We share a close bond. As such, I feel obligated to make you swear to treat her well and keep her by your side”

“Can you accept this oath?”

“To be perfectly honest, I was intent on keeping her around regardless, so…”

The oath was formed without any pushback.

“Mmh… That was easier than I thought… You are one of those people who engage in Biesta, aren’t you?”

“I am”

“...That’s good. Since you will have a Paraceratherium Magus bloodline, make sure to continue the lineage with her. Don’t hesitate to spread it around to other females, as well!”

“You can count on me for that”

After promising to the Magus-King that he would be thoroughly breeding the princess, Edrick suddenly found himself back in his physical body–And suddenly, a wave of intense pain washed over him, slamming into him with indescribable force.

The noble forced himself to sit down, trying to focus on meditating and absorbing the bloodline… Now that it had begun, he wasn’t going to be able to stop the process, no matter what.

This was the test that would determine whether Anoteros was worthy of Daladerium’s great bloodline or not.

…Unbeknownst to Edrick, he stayed down in the temple for several days. Agony tearing through each and every one of his nerves without respite for the entire duration of it all.

The pain was worth it, however.