Bloodbound Codex: I Grow Stronger in Secret

Both Xakro and Melina appeared elsewhere, still wearing the same clothes as before. Xakro wore his regal yet simple black and white attire while Melina wore the same blue gown, and the place where they appeared could only be called a Palace, though that word was not enough to explain it.

It was not a normal Palace. Its grandeur could easily surpass every Palace across the world, and its structure was so massive outside that anyone standing before it would feel overwhelmed by the size alone. The inside itself was even more overwhelming than the outside, to the point that if a normal person or a low-ranking Explorer entered without preparation, their heart might stop after seeing the scale of everything around them, because yes....it was that overwhelming.

The inside had been built from something that looked and felt like metal, but it was not any type of metal known on other continents. The walls, floor, pillars, and even the larger sections supporting the Palace carried that same appearance, yet none of it could be identified by looking. It was simply something else entirely, something that belonged to the Dragon Continent and had been used to create the whole structure.

The Palace of the Dwarven Continent was technologically more advanced and seemed to hide something inside itself, but this Palace of the Dragon Continent looked more dangerous than that.

The difference could be seen without understanding either structure properly, because the Dwarven Palace looked as though it depended on advanced construction and Spirit technology, while the Dragon Palace looked as though the material and structure themselves were enough.

At the highest section of the Palace was a massive Dragon head statue, its maw fully open while its fangs remained visible, and its eyes showed rage without the Dragon actually looking angry. The statue did not move, but the way the face had been made was enough to give that impression to anyone who looked at it from below.

Inside the Palace, Xakro and Melina appeared within a massive chamber that contained one large bed, three couches, several tables, and other luxurious furniture placed across the room. Even those things did not make the chamber feel crowded because of how much space remained around them.

Xakro turned and looked at Melina for a long moment before speaking, ”Let’s go to Father, Melina....I want to talk to him about our marriage.”

Melina, who had two blue horns coming out from her head, widened her eyes the moment she heard that statement. Many thoughts ran through her mind as she tried to calculate what could happen if Xakro went directly to his Father and spoke about their marriage right now.

”You....want to talk to your Father right now?” Melina asked while looking at him. ”You know he might kill you if he does not like this marriage.”

After saying that, Melina lowered her head, and her lips pressed into a thin line as she felt frustrated and anxious about his decision. She knew Xakro well, and because of that she also knew he would never back down from a serious decision after making it, but knowing that did not make her worry disappear, because the person they were going to speak with was his Father and also the King.

Xakro had two horns as well, though their colour was dark red with some purple mixed into them. He looked at Melina’s lowered head for a moment, stepped one step forward, and lifted her chin gently with his hand. His long black hair, which had been tied tightly behind him, moved slightly before he spoke.

”Melina, there is nothing to worry about,” Xakro said while looking into her eyes. ”Father will understand, and he does not have anything to gain or lose from our marriage. He also does not care about the thoughts of those lower than him, so from my conclusion, he will not stop this marriage.”

Melina looked at his determined eyes, and the vertical pupils of both of them remained fixed on each other for a little longer before she finally nodded and spoke, ”A-Alright....I will come with you then.”

Xakro smiled and nodded as he replied, ”Hmm....now come. We will have a lot of preparation to do after he gives us the ’Yes.’”

He took Melina’s hand softly in his grip and turned toward the exit of the chamber. Melina followed him without saying anything more, and as she looked at his back, only one thought remained inside her mind, ’It all depends on the King now.’

---

Far away from all of this, while the events initiated by the Human Continent continued unfolding one after another across the world, Atlas was inside the same Ruin he had been heading toward, the same Ruin from which the changed Monster had emerged. He could now be seen sitting on the pedestal where the broken structure used for the experiment remained.

When Atlas entered the chamber, he saw that structure and quickly connected the obvious details around it. The condition of the place, the broken structure, and the fact that the Monster had emerged from this exact Ruin were enough for him to conclude that some kind of experiment had been carried out here....some kind of experiment that had the capacity to insert Null inside that Monster.

That was the only conclusion Atlas could reach from what remained. He could not figure out anything more from the broken structure, and he did not even know that it was called a Bloodline Crucible, so after looking at it for some time, he pushed part of it sideways and cleared enough space to do the work he had originally returned here for.

As he sat on the pedestal, Atlas quickly reached behind his back and pulled the bag forward. The bag was only medium-sized, but it carried many different things that made it heavy, though to Atlas that weight did not feel like much at all anymore.

He opened the bag, and the first thing he took out was the box that carried the Ruin Cores. He placed it in front of himself, then just as he was about to take something else out... he felt a slight itch across his face and noticed that breathing behind the mask had become uncomfortable.

His hand slowly rose and pulled the cloth loops of the mask away from both ears. The moment he removed it, his face became visible, and it had become so polished and handsome that people might doubt their own appearance after seeing him, even if they were considered handsome in their own right.

Atlas did not think about that. He wiped the sweat from his face and rubbed the places that had started itching because of the sweat gathered beneath the mask after the fight. Once that discomfort reduced, his focus returned toward the open bag again.

Inside it were the books Harleks had given him, the same books Atlas had packed while preparing inside the Inn. He stared at them for a moment before speaking in a low tone, ”Looks like I will not be able to learn them right now. Maybe I will try after reaching S-rank? There is no rule saying I cannot do that.”

After saying this, Atlas turned toward the box again. He stared at it for a brief moment, and then another question, one he had not thought about until now, appeared inside his mind.

”But....how do I absorb Spirit?” Atlas muttered as his brows tightened. ”I only wrote my Spirit until now. Damn it....”

Until this point, Atlas had increased his Spirit by writing it inside the Bloodbound Codex, so he had never needed to learn the normal method used by Explorers to absorb Spirit. Now the Ruin Cores were already in front of him, but he realised he did not know how to begin using them.

”Even if I asked Harleks, he would become suspicious and might ask how I reached A-rank without knowing this,” Atlas cursed while staring at the box. ”Damn it!”

Atlas released a long breath and opened the box, but the next step toward his revenge had become stuck because of his incomplete knowledge. He had already reached this point and brought everything he needed, yet the one thing he had never learned was now stopping him from continuing.

But the next moment, Atlas remembered something more important, and the thought immediately shifted his attention away from the problem in front of him. ’Oh....that Title. Let’s Assimilate it first and see what it actually is.’

The moment he decided that, Atlas spoke, ”Originate.”

The Bloodbound Codex came out from his chest in the same way it usually did, making him feel weird as always. It floated in front of him, and Atlas raised his hand toward the Sanguis Stylus attached to its side.

His fingers wrapped around the Stylus as he looked at the Codex and spoke in a low voice, ”Now....it is time to see what a Title actually is and what it does.”