Chapter 27
The blood awakening ceremony has been a secret ritual used by royal families for thousands of years to win the loyalty of their beastmen.
Its original function was limited to awakening qualified orcs to become golden blood.
Because it is basically ineffective against the Mythril Blood, which requires more elements, it has not been taken seriously by spellcasters over the years and has been cracked.
Moreover, even though the ritual consumes a lot of energy each time it is used, and those who undergo the ritual must have undergone strict screening beforehand, taking their physique and strength and even whether there were beastmen with golden blood among their ancestors into consideration, the final success rate is still not very high.
In terms of effort and reward, it can be said that it is not worth doing this at all. If the mortal royal family had not resorted to this measure to ensure loyalty, it would be much easier to collect pure natural golden blood and cultivate it than to create it artificially.
Even if the high consumption were converted into money and used to provide more subsidies and free luxury houses to those beast families such as lions and tigers that are strong in fighting and more easily awakened, in order to encourage them to have more cubs, it would actually be more cost-effective than performing the rituals ourselves.
——This is how efficiency-oriented spellcasters viewed the so-called "Bloodline Awakening Ceremony" in the past.
But now, the basis of the ritual has changed a lot after being improved twice by Lazarus and Bernaludos.
Although the two characters are based on the same person, Yuan Qian, their identities are real and their perspectives vary due to their different races and abilities.
So from Yuan Qian's own perspective, it has indeed been improved over and over again, and many unresolved parts have been solved after switching identities.
Yuan Qian: The dragon clan is really strong. Why didn’t you choose them before? Was it because you didn’t want to?
The scroll covered with scribbled handwriting unfolded in the lich's hands, as if it had been attacked by a bush of thorns and a group of large mosquitoes covered in ink.
The improved Talent Awakening Ceremony - Disciple Special Edition is now almost unrecognizable from the original one, and the success rate has even increased several times. With the lich's eyesight, this thing might be able to be exchanged for some higher-quality goods from the City of Academics.
Even if it is tailor-made, it doesn't matter, because the collection style of the City of Learning has always been "I want it all", regardless of the value of knowledge and information. It can be useless and contain fallacies, but we must have it.
In order to fit in with his character, the young dragon hardly even wrote down the verification steps during work, and those that he did write down were not transcribed and sorted out again at the end. He just casually scribbled on the neat handwriting left by Lazarus, making the whole piece of paper look extremely bad at first glance.
But the lich just calmly identified it and then thanked him.
Because the owner didn't want him to let the cat out of the bag in front of his disciples, Bernaludos had been staying in the underground laboratory for the past few days. Although the laboratory was spacious enough and by no means shabby, looking at the golden hair that didn't shine in the sun and the handsome face that looked a little gloomy in the dim room that was in line with the living habits of the undead, it seemed that staying here was indeed a disservice to him.
After thanking his unrecognizable friend, Bernaludus stood up, put his hands in his pockets, walked closer to the lich and leaned forward slightly.
The Dragon King's handsomeness is extremely flamboyant and powerful, so when he's not smiling, he's suddenly as cold as ice. His shining brown-gold dragon eyes are fixed on his prey at close range, making people inexplicably feel that he might smash the thing in front of him in order to find something familiar.
"Lazarus."
After a few seconds, he stood up again and said calmly, "Have you memorized all the materials needed for the ceremony?"
"Yes." The lich, whose body was covered in nothing but the crimson of death, answered.
He did not show any panic reaction to the probing from his former "friend", whether out of trust or otherwise, because the pupils of a dead person would not shrink in response to a crisis.
"Then do you need it? My blood." The humanoid dragon pulled his right hand out of his pocket, opened his palm, raised his wrist, and offered it to Lazarus with a gesture of complete giving, while looking at the other party.
"——You should have thought about it. Even if dragon blood cannot increase your lifespan, it can at least increase the strength of your disciples." he said.
"Since you are willing to spend your remaining time on her, you should also be willing to hurt me for her."
Obviously, he was so powerful that he could break any magic defense just by spreading his wings and destroy the laboratory, kitchen, living room, the entire building, garden and everything at will, but he just asked Lazarus's opinion in a low voice.
The shadow cast by the Dragon King's side was as large and striking as he was, swaying unsteadily. Combined with the outline of a collar or earrings or some other accessory, it was vaguely unrecognizable as a human figure after being pulled by the light.
“No,” Lazarus replied.
"I appreciate your help, but you only helped me complete the revisions in a timely manner because of our friendship. So I will not sign the bill for this and let Xiaoman bear your debt of gratitude."
"The brilliant freedom belongs to that child, and should continue to belong to her. The mess should only be left to the immortals."
"If you want to baptize her with dragon's blood, and it is your own will, I will not stop you."
After thanking him again, Lazarus went to prepare the materials needed for the final version of the ceremony. He did not see him off, which seemed to be Bernaludos's way of doing things. He did not seem to be worried about the dragon destroying the house.
The latter felt bored and leaned back in his chair. The next moment he stood up unwillingly, grabbed a piece of clothing, rolled it into a ball, put it under his head, closed his eyes and fell asleep.
He calmed down, and the thorn-crowned horns and long tail buried in his short golden hair finally became noticeable. The half-human-length tail swung back and forth angrily several times, and wherever it went, it caused countless defensive magic arrays to rebound, leaving behind shining aftershocks and the accompanying noise, which would inevitably be accompanied by a large number of onomatopeia in the comics.
"How was my performance just now?" Yuan Qian was feeling anxious after finishing a schizophrenic scene.
[It's nice, I like it, please order more.] The adjutant expressed his approval in his own way.
The fact that dragon blood can increase a hero's strength can be found in many legends, including in this comic book world. Since Yuan Qian has created an important character who represents the dragon clan in the comics, he must take the responsibility of explaining this setting.
Of course, he doesn't like acting schizophrenic, which is fortunately because both parties look very similar to him, and judging from his looks, he is not very familiar with these "selves" who are responsible for earning money and supporting the family, otherwise he would definitely laugh in the middle of the show.
...It's all because the adjutant refused to help take over the character temporarily. Yuan Qian, who used to be just an ordinary amateur, was actually a little resentful every time he acted out a split second.
This guy has always been conscientious in doing things like playing house, such as pretending to have a fake system, and even maintains a touching 24-hour manual customer service online that responds to questions in seconds.
Only this time, when Yuan Qian felt unsure about asking for help, the unscrupulous helper from another world kept muttering, "Who wants to play the role of the mother of a red-haired man who abandoned his husband and daughter? I don't want to play that role, I'm a serious devil", "A fierce-faced muscular guy won't let a strange girl pat his head even if he turns into a puppy caught in the rain, so never", "I'll definitely do it next time", etc. These are definitely comments he has seen too many times on the forum, and then turned and walked towards the unlucky temple that was said to have ambushed his subordinates when he was out.
...Did you see, Xiaoman, external forces are unreliable! Only your own strength can be relied upon!
Yuan Qian muttered to himself.
Xiaoman, who was processing the fur he had hunted to make a new water bag on the ground, sneezed for some reason.
She rubbed the tip of her nose and caught a glimpse of dark red in her peripheral vision. She put away the materials and tools in her hands, dusted off the debris, and stood up.
The last thing thrown into the small portable space was a long cone. During the days of hiding from disasters here, Xiaoman never left the vicinity and rarely came into contact with outsiders, let alone trade. She didn't often ask the teacher for items, so some of these odds and ends were made by her, and some were found in the strange and random T inventory accumulated by Lazarus.
The fact that she dared to use the pyramid-shaped object she got from a lich proved that she really trusted this teacher and was really strong-willed.
Lazarus thought for a long time whether he had used enough cleansing and purification spells on this thing in advance, but to no avail. He withdrew his gaze from the long spike whose origin was unknown and whose previous purpose was even more unknown.
"Xiaoman, has your talent changed recently?" Lazarus asked.
During the communication between teachers and students, Xiaoman had already mentioned her unclear talent to the teacher who knew her true race, so "Lazarus" was of course fully aware of it.
Xiaoman shook her head to indicate no.
"Okay. - Actually, there is an opportunity now to help you change it. I will ask for your disciple's opinion. Are you willing?" Lazarus asked gently.
Xiaoman was stunned. Her knowledge of the so-called disabled people came only from her mother, rumors from people around her, and bits and pieces of information in her teacher's books. She only knew that her strange abilities had precedents, so she would not be labeled an outlier among outliers. In fact, she had no idea what talent actually was.
That essence was part of the mission imposed by the Star God, and it was a basic nutrient randomly prepared by the creator with confused consciousness when planting it... But there was no need to tell Xiaoman about this for the time being. Because it was obviously not the right time yet, no matter the plot of the comic or Xiaoman's strength, it was far from the time to include the Star God in the target.
"I believe you." Xiaoman thought for a moment, looked at Lazarus and said seriously.
"What if I want to hurt you?" Yuan Qian was helpless. After losing his only family member and new friend, the wolf cub's favorability was ridiculously good, and he actually got along with the lich without any guard.
Perhaps it is because the protagonist has a strict destiny and is therefore considered a special envoy directly under the gods, not counted as their long-tamed subjects. Therefore, he does not need to have a pair of eyes that are angry with his angry master, nor does he need to hate all the undead for no reason on behalf of the star god.
The time that had passed was enough for Xiaoman to get accustomed to the paleness of the lich. After becoming familiar with it, he no longer found it scary. He only felt that the paleness was like the surface of a split stone, bringing out the faint chill from the deep earth. The whiteness was tinged with a faint green, and matched with the deep dark red, it could even be said to be pleasing to the eyes.
It was just that the teacher's eyes had changed color not long ago, and that beautiful green color disappeared without a trace, which was a pity. When Xiaoman tried to ask the reason, he got the answer that it was an experimental accident. Because it was not considered a lie, Yuanqian was allowed to get away with it without using the mall props.
"You won't hurt me." Xiao Man said, "I know the difference between feeding and caring for me."
What a terrifying intuition that only a protagonist can have. Yuan Qian looked at the girl's blue eyes that were as blue as the sky, calm, firm, and sincere under her gray-black forehead, and for a moment he actually felt a bit tired of the self-pitying retreat of an adult.
[That’s why you say she’s the protagonist… The difference between a beautiful, glowing soul and us charcoal ash is obvious to all…] The adjutant’s deep voice returned for a limited time, and he made a cruel remark with that voice that was good enough to speak well enough to apply for the job of a prince.
"We?" Yuan Qian felt that his grouping was not right.
[Yes, I’m bigger, and you’re more colorful. But they’re still just charcoal. They’ve already burned out all the combustibles, and they’ll break apart if you press them, and they’ll stain the floor black and make it dirty. In short, they’re just hopelessly sad charcoal—]
The adjutant's tone became increasingly darker, and he satirized himself mercilessly and accurately, and his writing gave off the feeling that in the next moment his expression would be calm but he would overturn the frying pan and jump into the river.
"...You're swearing again?" Yuan Qian silently made the sound of being hit on Scar.
However, this episode made him feel that his teammates' occasional madness was much more terrifying than the active and determined protagonist child, so he calmed down and was no longer provoked by his thoughts to retreat instinctively. He could even calmly raise his hands to rub Xiaoman's hair.
Xiaoman tilted her head in confusion, and subconsciously pressed her head against the teacher's cold but gentle palm, whose fingertips were very thin so it felt very comfortable.
This caused Yuan Qian to be unable to help but rub it a few more times. Then he thought of how his disciple had grown taller and had eaten well recently. She had become a shiny little wolf, too. However, it also meant that the day when she and her teacher would part ways and leave the nest was really approaching.
In fact, Yuan Qian was not good at saying goodbye, so Su Mei left a letter and ran away at night. As a formal separation ceremony, this thing was too depressing.
He was in a state of depression, which indirectly caused the Dragon King, who was pretending to be asleep in the basement laboratory, to finally knock down a table leg with the tip of his tail.