Bloodbound Codex: I Grow Stronger in Secret

As Atlas stepped through the threshold, the Central City finally unfolded before him from up close. Massive buildings stood on both sides of the broad road that stretched deep into the city, each structure far larger than anything he had seen in Lumivale.

Even so, Atlas only glanced at them briefly before shifting his attention ahead. He had already observed most of the city’s appearance while standing outside, and after seeing that enormous palace rising through the clouds, these buildings no longer felt impressive enough to keep his attention for long. Compared to the palace, they simply looked like ordinary structures built around it.

He continued walking along the main road without slowing down. Angel Explorers, merchants, and civilians moved through the streets in an orderly manner, each focused on their own destination. Quite a few pairs of eyes landed on him as he passed, but none of them lingered for more than a moment before returning to whatever they had been doing.

Nobody appeared surprised by the sight of a Human walking through the city alone. Atlas quickly realized that such a sight was probably common here, and it wasn’t limited to Humans either. As he observed the people moving through the streets, he noticed individuals from different races walking around naturally alongside the Angels.

Just a short distance ahead of him, two Dwarves walked side by side while talking loudly to each other. Their voices carried easily through the street, allowing Atlas to hear their conversation without making any effort.

”The Spirit Jet idea His Majesty gave us was a good one, don’t you think? He even provided the Angels with a copy of it, hah!” the Dwarf on the left said before laughing.

The other Dwarf nodded with a grin. ”Haha! You’re right! Though their version isn’t as advanced as ours, it still looks grand enough after being crafted by us Dwarves.”

The two continued laughing as they walked farther ahead without paying attention to anyone around them. Atlas simply watched them for a moment before looking away. From the Spirit fluctuations around them and the tools hanging from their waists, he could already tell they weren’t Explorers.

’Hmm...they’re probably merchants or craftsmen representing the Dwarven Continent.’ Atlas thought quietly while continuing forward. ’At least now I know those flying objects are called Spirit Jets.’

That answered one of the questions he had formed earlier while standing outside the city. It also explained why those vehicles looked far more refined than ordinary transportation. If the Dwarves had been involved in creating them, then their craftsmanship naturally wouldn’t be simple.

As he walked farther into the city, Atlas also noticed quite a few Humans moving through the streets. Unlike the ordinary civilians, these people carried themselves differently, and from the Spirit they naturally emitted, he could roughly judge that most of them were B-rank or A-rank Explorers. None of them approached him, although several glanced toward him for a little longer than the Angels had.

It didn’t take Atlas long to realize why.

Their attention wasn’t on him.

It was on the transparent bag resting behind his shoulder.

The bag continuously released faint Spirit fluctuations because it had been woven entirely from condensed Spirit Energy rather than physical material. It looked different from anything sold in ordinary markets, and naturally it attracted a little curiosity from nearby Explorers. At the same time, none of them could sense even the slightest amount of Spirit from Atlas himself, making the difference between him and the Spirit-made bag even stranger from their perspective.

Even so, nobody stepped forward to question him. Everyone merely observed for a few moments before continuing on their own path as if they had already lost interest.

Atlas ignored every glance directed toward him. Instead, he quietly observed the city itself while continuing deeper inside. The roads were noticeably wider than Lumivale’s, the flow of people was much greater, and almost every building showed signs of careful planning rather than being constructed wherever space happened to be available. Everything looked organized, from the placement of shops to the movement of Spirit carriages and pedestrians.

’It’s really much more advanced than Lumivale...and much grander as well.’ Atlas concluded while calmly taking in his surroundings. ’This isn’t just because it’s larger. Even the overall planning of the city is completely different.’

Though he didn’t spend as much time looking at the buildings like he had done in Lumivale, he still couldn’t deny that this city was on a completely different level.

For now though, his attention remained on the purpose that had brought him here. As he continued walking along the road, he soon spotted the massive Guild Building standing on the right side just a short distance ahead.

That was his destination from the beginning. He quickly went through the plan once more - First, he would register himself in the Solara’s Guild using the Guild Card and information from Lumivale, and then came - applying for permission to enter a Cataclysm-rank Ruin that would let him take the traits of S-rank Monsters.

After that, Atlas continued forward without changing his pace and eventually arrived before the Guild.

He lifted his head slightly and looked at the enormous banner hanging above the entrance.

It carried the same Guild emblem he had seen in Lumivale, but the scale was completely different. The banner alone stretched well over fifty meters across the front of the building, making it impossible to miss even from far away.

After giving it a brief glance, he shifted his attention toward the entrance and stepped forward. He noticed that no one was entering the Guild at that moment, which felt slightly unusual considering the size of the city, but he didn’t think much about it and simply walked through the large entrance.

The moment he crossed the threshold; he immediately felt it...several powerful Spirit pressures spread throughout the building. His instincts reacted on their own before his mind even finished processing them, causing his eyes to narrow slightly.

’I can only sense S-rank Spirit pressure...’

His perception spread naturally across the Guild as he observed the surroundings. He could tell there were many people inside, both on this floor and the upper floors, but something stood out immediately. He couldn’t sense the Spirit of most of them at all.

’Hmm...I can tell there are many people inside this building, but I can only sense the Spirit pressure from the S-ranks. That confirms it...the others are SS-ranks or maybe even SSS-ranks.’

The conclusion came naturally to him.

He himself had only recently reached S-rank, so there was no reason he should be capable of sensing the Spirit of cultivators above that stage unless they intentionally released part of their Spirit pressure. The difference in rank alone was enough to prevent that from happening.

He had already experienced something similar before.

Back when he was only an A-rank, he had sensed Harleks’s Spirit pressure only because Harleks had intentionally released it. Without that deliberate action, Atlas wouldn’t have sensed anything at all. Harleks had his own reasons for doing that back then, but Atlas wasn’t interested in thinking about those events now.

He dismissed those thoughts and continued walking further into the Guild.

Only after entering completely did he finally observe the interior properly.

Unlike the Lumivale Branch, which only had a couple of reception counters, the Solara Guild had nearly ten separate counters arranged across the large reception hall.

Every one of them was occupied with Explorers speaking to receptionists, while two of the counters even had long lines stretching several meters behind them. Explorers from different races moved throughout the hall, making the Guild feel far busier than anything Atlas had experienced before.

Some of the nearby S-rank Explorers glanced toward him as he entered. Since they couldn’t sense even the slightest trace of Spirit from his body, their attention naturally shifted toward the transparent Spirit bag hanging behind him instead. After a brief look, they lost interest and returned to their own conversations and business.

Atlas paid them no further attention either.

He only noticed that both Humans and Angels were present inside before shifting his gaze toward a reception counter that had just become vacant. The Explorer standing there had finished his registration and walked away, leaving only the receptionist behind.

Without any hurry, Atlas walked over.

As he approached the counter, the receptionist greeted him with a polite smile.

”Welcome to the Guild of Solara. How may I help you sir?”

Atlas nodded slightly before reaching into the right pocket of his attire.

After searching for a moment, he pulled out the Guild Card Harleks had given him before leaving Lumivale. The card already identified him as an S-rank Explorer because Harleks had been confident Atlas would eventually reach that stage. He had prepared everything beforehand, just as he had promised that day.

Atlas placed the card on the counter.

”I would like to register this in the Solara Branch. I was previously registered in Lumivale and have just arrived here.”

The receptionist accepted the card with the same professional smile.

”Of course, sir. I’ll complete the registration right away.”

She examined the Guild Card briefly before placing it on the counter beside her.

Then she raised one hand.

The next moment, a blank sheet of paper materialized out of thin air before her. She calmly took hold of it, picked up a stylus filled with ink from the side of the desk, and began writing the required information with practiced movements.

Atlas watched the entire process carefully without interrupting her.

After several moments, the paper suddenly dissolved into countless tiny particles before his eyes. Those particles gathered together in midair, compressed into a single point, and gradually reshaped themselves into a completely new Guild Card.

Atlas narrowed his eyes slightly as he observed the phenomenon.

’A Relic...but where is it?’

He couldn’t sense any Relic nearby that was responsible for creating the paper or reconstructing the Guild Card. The entire process happened smoothly without exposing the source behind it, making him wonder where the Relic responsible for this system was actually located.

Just as that thought crossed his mind, the receptionist picked up the newly formed card and extended it toward him with a smile.

”Here you are, Sir Atlas, your registration has been completed successfully. This is your new Guild Card for the Solara Branch. You may now accept Explorer missions and register Ruin expeditions from this Guild.”

Atlas took the silver-coloured Guild Card from her hand. He didn’t bother checking its contents before putting it into his pocket since he already knew what information it would contain. After pocketing it, he looked at the receptionist again and spoke in the same calm tone.

”About Exploring, I would like to apply for permission to enter a Cataclysm-rank Ruin, and I want to enter it alone...would that be possible?”

The words had barely left his mouth when the receptionist’s hand froze midway through arranging the papers on her desk. Her eyes widened beneath her glasses as she slowly raised her head to look directly at Atlas, clearly wondering if she had heard him correctly.

”Wh-what did you say?” she asked instinctively, unable to hide the surprise in her voice.