Five imposing figures stood in the sea of maids. They certainly were Mainline Family members, dressed elegantly and clearly had the best gear on them. All of them besides one. The man who commanded us to drink was indeed an old guy. He didn’t have a weapon, but he was also an absolute giant brute of pure muscle. He dwarfed the coffin in height and size, built like a refrigerator and his forearms were probably wider than a car’s steering wheel.
———————————————
Eltross Ravenclast
Human Berserker, level ??
Patriarch of the Ravenclast Clan.
———————————————
I had to stop myself from laughing by pinching my thigh. What an interesting Father of mine, with two titles to boot. A consort! Ha! Whoever this Bearer was certainly had a unique taste in boytoys. He and the others still haven’t noticed I swept my gaze over each of them. Standing beside him was a tall and slender woman, who also sported grey hair but was easier on the eyes compared to the living truck idling next to her.
You must be the unfortunate darling of this consort, I scoffed. Let’s see what you are.
———————————————
Eleanor Ravenclast
Human Assassin, level ??
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Also a Consort. Interesting. And surprisingly open minded. The Ravenclast Bearer probably took all of these sorry individuals on stage as its playthings. Suddenly, I wasn’t so sure who was worse off, us test tube babies or these caged canaries. The liquid bubbled before me, and my hand had already gripped its stem.
The other names flashed before me. Each with question marks for levels. Of course. There was Elise, the Eldest Sister. She was clad in a form fitting leather dress of some kind, with a wicked spear on her back. Perhaps, the dress was just for decoration. Or she stepped out of some kind of convention. She had an aloof and pretty face, standing by Eleanor’s side, but there was a hidden dagger beneath her red dyes.
———————————————
Elise Ravenclast
Human Knight, level ??
Human Saintess, level ??
An awakened member of the Main Line Family, eldest daughter of Eltross.
———————————————
Awakened? Perhaps that explains her dual classes. In novels with fantasy worlds, there was usually a religious priestess following the hero around. Usually, she was also a love interest of that guy too. I didn’t know how… circular… this family tree got, so I didn’t rule out the possibility of them being tied together that way. So the fact that she was here, then there certainly was a Hero of some kind in this Family.
Then, that had to be Ethan, right? The second oldest sibling of the bunch. A powerful looking sword with several blood red gems hung on his hip. He had the scheming and evil starter pack practically taped to his face. Black hair which shone under the candle light, and he also had red eyes that held a glint of superiority in them. It was similar to the Saintess’s. Perhaps, that infuriating smug look was hereditary? Time was running out, and my pulse was quickening to a thumping thunder in my head.
A quick sweep confirmed my suspicions.
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Ethan Ravenclast
Human Hero, level ??
The son of the Mainline Family and Hero of the Ravenclast Clan.
———————————————
Ugh. I turned my gaze from the evil Hero. The last member, Emily, was the only one without an arrogant face on. A big axe was slung to her back. Instead, she seemed like she was bored. The powerhouse slapper of faces was staring into space, as if the suicide juice drinking ceremony was just another Tuesday. I was about to dismiss her notification until I saw something new on it.
———————————————
Emily Ravenclast
Human Knight, level ??
Fourth and youngest daughter of the Ravenclast Main Family.
———————————————
Once again, the Plus Menu had mutated somehow. The mention that she was the fourth daughter meant there was a hidden sister or brother around here somewhere, but nowhere to be seen. There wasn’t any flicker of recognition in my own head since I’ve commandeered this body, so why did the Menu change? Was it the latent memories of her from the old Kathleen?
I heard metal scratching the desk beside me. Time was up. Tiffany had already lifted her chalice along with the others, but her hands were shaking and her bravado was completely gone. Same with mine.
The liquid, if I could call it that, stared at me like a live snake. I was in a full blown state of panic, frantically scrolling through my Plus Menu for anything that could help me not drink this. Only one notification appeared when I scanned it repeatedly.
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— Blood infused by the Ravenclast Bearer—
———————————————
Who the hell do you think you are, Bearer? Do you think you’re a God? Heh, you probably are with the way this crappy cult is handling this sordid affair. Why do all of your Consorts’ and childrens’ names start with E? Are you the God of E’s? My mind scrambled for a solution, and I found it.
———————————————
> Status [+5 available]
> Notifications [0]
> Unknown [Level 10 Required]
> Skill Points [0]
> Exit
———————————————
Screams started to fill the air, and the sounds of gagging and vomiting made it clear that the drink in my sweaty hand was designed to kill me. Poison, right? I had to figure out how to use the Status points and put them in Constitution, right? That’s got to be Kathleen’s health bar.
I pulled up the Status menu with my eyes amongst the cacophony of people dying. I assumed I had to mentally click the Plus sign next to the attributes to apply the changes. I found that I could directly interface with the menu by looking at a panel and mentally selecting it. It was a convenient feature, though it didn’t seem like I was going to have it for too long.
———————————————
> Status [+5 points available]
Kathleen Ravenclast
Human Healer, Level 1
(No party affiliation)
[No Element]
No Bio.
Attack Power: 10 (F)+
Magical Power: 15 (F)+
Constitution: 10 (F)+
Wisdom: 15 (F)+
Movement Speed: 10 (F)+
———————————————
Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.
Tiffany began to tilt the chalice of mysterious blood back, and I heard the slop slurping and slithering into her mouth. Then, I heard her gag and saw her face contort into a pale knot as the poison did its work within her. She began to retch violently, clawing at the table as if she was trying to escape the torment burrowing within her. The chalice dropped from her grip like a live grenade with a loud clunk, rolling away on the ground before getting kicked away by her flailing boot. Everything on her face began to melt. I didn’t have time to be satisfied watching her suffer.
Screw it. Whatever happens, happens. My eyes swiped the Plus sign next to the Constitution. At the same time, I raised the chalice of foul smelling purple juice to my mouth.
———————————————
Notification
> You have added 5 points to Constitution. You now have 15 Constitution points (F)
———————————————
Welp. Bottoms up.
I poured the contents into my mouth. The taste was rancid, tearing its way through my throat as I began to spew out everything and nothing at the same time. My insides felt like they were being ripped apart, like rodents were tunneling through my muscles with sharp claws. This was not good! My head slammed against the table as I began to heave violently and involuntarily. Constitution did nothing to mitigate this insanity!
I gagged, scraping against the table with the rest of my fellow Batch. In my bleary vision, they seemed to be faring no better than I, convulsing and bleeding from every orifice on their head. My physical state was no better.
My skull was pounding; it felt like my brain was burning and freezing at the same time as warm blood and tears trickled down my cheeks. I saw the notification dot at the corner of my vision once again and felt something inside of me jolting. It was there in my blurry vision, clearer than ever, like a lifeline waiting to be used.
“S-Status,” I called out in between burps of blood and bile. That red dot!
———————————————
Notifications
> Host is under a severe mana draining attack.
> Blood infused by the Ravenclast Bearer acquired.
> Host has received 20 status points!
———————————————
This bloody drink was draining my Mana? This is what happens when I use it all up? I puked out something, but forced myself to focus inward again. I needed to find out which attribute helped with Mana quickly.
I couldn’t draw a full breath from the agony tearing me apart, but I could die trying. Tiffany finally slumped against the desk in a festering pool of her own making, a mixture of liquids whose iridescence resembled an oil spill on a parking lot’s pavement. It seemed like my half-brothers didn’t make it either. I hacked up a ball of blood from my mouth, but I channeled my magic with a desperate gasp. Bearer or not, I will survive your test!
The white room flashed in my mind, except the blue ball of magic floating inside was now tinged with tendrils of petroleum blackness and red strings that looked like capillaries spread like cracks in chalk white pavement. Those had to be my magical channels and they needed to be cleaned out immediately.
One deep breath. Tasted gross. My ribs were cracking against the stone desk. Or I had fallen off my chair and now was a corpse on the ground that didn’t get the memo that it was already dead. I mentally called out for my Menu. Do something, you stupid system!
———————————————
>Magical Power Governs how much Mana the Host can wield.
———————————————
Lucky. Nice, even. The second option was the one I needed. I released my first breath and attempted to guide the blue ball’s magic through the tangled red webs that blocked near the exits. As my vision shook and threatened to close deeply, I took a second breath.
There were five exits, each covered by a layer of filth and blood. The magic lashed against the red strands like a weak and dying gust of wind, but were stopped by the expanding darkness that swirled at the edge of my core. My heart rocked against my chest when my attempt to force out the impure mana failed.
———————————————
Attack Power: 10 (F)+
Magical Power: 15 (F)+
Constitution: 15 (F)+
Wisdom: 15 (F)+
Movement Speed: 10 (F)+
———————————————
I took a third deep breath.
The Plus Menu reopened with a blue screen shining like a ray of sunlight. That’s it! I added all 20 points to Magical Power, then resumed my violent dry heaving cult activities. Chunks clogged my throat, but a noticeable shift in my chest jolted inside of me. I could see the darkness encroaching as the white void receded!
Go menu, go!
———————————————
Notification
> You have added 20 points to Magical Power. You now have 35 Magical Power (F).
———————————————
The ball of magic seemed more energized, and I didn’t have the time to complain about how 20 points didn’t even raise the rank higher. I tore into my white room again, forcing the blue mana out of it. Once a dying breath, my magic now seemed like a violent storm, ready to burst. The retching and immense strain cracking my rib cage ceased, replaced by a warm undercurrent.
A dizzying spell struck my vision as I was about to marvel over the big blue ball of magic. Its expanding mass was threatening to shove me out of here. I needed to get rid of it and force it out of me.
This was how it was supposed to be, wasn’t it? I pictured my hands grabbing the magic ball amidst the raging storm and hurling it against one of the red tangles. The ball shot out a lance of blue light, shattering the corruption completely. No, I watched it expelling it out beyond the borders of the inner core’s white room, dissipating into mist. Instead of being painful, the release and shattering of that blood’s mana attack made me feel stronger. This was it!
I felt like the outside world had vanished, and I was nothing but a floating spirit waving my ghostly hands around like a drunk aircraft marshal. If my body was flailing around outside this realm of white, then so be it. Everyone else was dying, so what if I was too? A massive blue screen appeared above me when the magic core’s lance receded back into itself.
———————————————
— Blood of the Ravenclast Bearer Purity Level: 20%—
———————————————
Ugh, math! I’m busy coughing and dying on the outside, and simultaneously directing magic on the inside. Can’t you see into my brain and know when to bother a busy girl like me, Plus Menu?
It ignored me, but allowed me to think about what exactly I was doing. Guiding a lance took a tremendous amount of energy, shrinking my magic. Yet, since it was much larger than before, it seemed easier to do. It must be due to the fact that I added those status points to my Magic Attack. That attribute determined the size of this thing, and as long as it wasn’t stretched thin it would serve me.
Well, well, well. I huffed internally. But I could feel the toll this process was taking on my physical form. The darkness encroaching me must be my body’s way of telling me I’m running out of magic. I can’t afford to go under just yet!
———————————————
— Blood of the Ravenclast Bearer Purity Level: 100%—
———————————————
Four walls of tangled blood and mouthfuls of bile later, I felt my body feel like I got run over by a train and my eyes were gouged out. The Plus Menu was rattling notifications off like a machine gun in my ears, or maybe that was the last of the adrenaline pulsing against my skull. I couldn’t tell. Then, the warmth in my chest vanished and I collapsed onto something hard.
The last thing I heard when my rioting vision succumbed to flat darkness was a female’s gentle voice coming from somewhere above me.
“Ah, so you’ve found yourself a good Hunter.”
-X-
Emily didn’t know what she was feeling at the Test Ritual this time. Among the batches was the usual trash. There were less and less passable items, but she knew that most of these creatures would not be making it out alive. She scoffed. Her siblings were insufferable as ever, but she didn’t care. She just wanted to get this over with and face the Rifts again. Perhaps, she could even get an Awakening just like her big sister.
A sullen face caught her eye. She noticed that it was the failed experiment who dared to look at her in the back row, now staring at the chalice as if she was trying to understand it. Her cheek was still swollen from the deserved punishment she gave her. Yet, just like when she first encountered it, she sensed that there were none of the usual emotions swirling inside that experiment. Her feelings were piqued again by this creature.
There was fear inside it. But there was also a strange awe of her surroundings, but there was no scheming in her eyes like the other trash next to her had. There was even a hint of something else on that girl. It was defiance, paired with a small and quiet confidence that carried her despite being in an unknown situation. It was not justifiable or logical that the experiment should have any emotions other than what the rumors said about her. Emily could sense that there was more to that girl— but threw that hunch out her mind.
It wasn’t like the bastard would survive the night anyways. And even if she did, how far along in the Rift Ritual would she survive? That thought let a scoff sneak out of her blank face. Emily felt a pair of eyes on her. Ethan’s.
“What is it, dear little sister?” He asked her, with a voice full of fake concern. Emily simply played along. They both knew that the Rift that had encroached upon their land this time was particularly powerful. Once the core was seized a new chance of power could be obtained.
“Nothing,” Emily replied coolly.
She tossed her hair and simply watched the rows of batches descend in their death throes. Screams, thrashing and the sound of metal cups clashing on the floor mixed together in a symphony of horror and gore. Emily had no interest, but Ethan’s mocking voice came through the chaos.
“You both know who Father will give the scraps of this group to, right? Elaine shall pick the strongest one, I will get the next and you—“
Emily wasn’t listening to her Hero Brother’s taunts. Instead, she was witnessing the so-called scrap do something entirely unexpected. A flicker of light flaring caught her eyes, coming from the back row again. It was a piercing and brilliant white ray. A Core…?
The experiment was frantically flailing her arms out like the rest of them, but there was something different about the way she was moving. The girl snapped each of her arms out straight, then moved her legs one by one. She wasn’t succumbing to the corruption, she was utilizing the Bearer’s curse somehow. She wasn’t dying, her blood was resonating with its own essence. Emily hid a small smile as she watched the experiment finally fall unconscious. Alive.
Suddenly, things were starting to favor her for once, in a very unexpected way.