MIGHT AS WELL BE OP

Chapter 696: Bloodline Awakening-2

’I will have to talk to Vega and Amara about this when I return to their estate. With the system’s assistance, helping her should be relatively simple,’ Anthony thought to himself with quiet resolve.

He decided it would be wiser to speak with Vega’s parents first rather than intervene on his own. He couldn’t just awaken Vega’s bloodline outright, what if Klaus and Amara already had a plan prepared, or worse, what if they suddenly felt indebted to him? Awakening a higher-ranked bloodline was not some trivial task; it was a feat that could shake entire clans and even influence the fate of a generation. Such matters demanded careful consideration.

’I wonder how talented she will become once her bloodline finally awakens,’ Anthony mused silently.

Anthony’s own talent had been limitless long before he had even elevated his bloodline. In fact, when he ascended to the Perfect Human Bloodline, it granted him no boost in talent whatsoever, because Limitless cannot be multiplied or improved upon. His talent had been absolute from the very beginning.

But Vega was different. She had been born with an extraordinary level of talent, one that already defied logic and reason. Despite lacking an awakened higher bloodline, she could stand shoulder to shoulder with individuals like Anthony’s subordinates, people who possessed systems themselves, designed to accelerate their growth and grant them advantages no ordinary being could rival. And still, Vega kept up with them effortlessly... without even trying, and a lazy personality.

Now, the thought of her bloodline awakening into something greater was staggering. Anthony did not even want to imagine the kind of monster she would become, the heights of strength and brilliance she would reach.

”But not to worry,” Klaus’s deep voice broke through Anthony’s reflections, calm yet weighted with memory. ”According to the most recent vision Amara witnessed through her mastery of Cause and Effect, we already know Vega will awaken her bloodline on her twentieth birthday. I’m sure you’ve noticed by now that Amara wasn’t always present in Vega’s life. You must have seen Vega’s reaction when she reunited with her mother when we all met together, that was because Amara spent much of her time searching. Searching for anything that could help awaken Vega’s dormant bloodline.”

Klaus paused briefly, his expression hardening before continuing.

”But after Amara received that vision of Vega awakening naturally on her twentieth birthday, she shifted her focus. Instead of looking for items to force the awakening, she began searching for treasures, relics, or resources that could increase the chances of Vega attaining a bloodline higher than the Supreme Human Bloodline that Amara herself possesses. Yet despite her tireless efforts, despite all our combined resources and influence, every attempt has come up empty. We have found nothing.” His voice sank into a sigh, as though confessing a burden that had long weighed upon his heart.

Silence stretched between them like a drawn blade. Neither man spoke, the words they might have spoken lost to the soft, steady wind that brushed against their skin. The barren world around them was quiet, yet that very stillness made their shared thoughts thunder even louder.

’So that is why Amara always vanished, only to return after years away,’ Anthony realized, his mind piecing together the fragments.

He had no child of his own, but he could still grasp, at least in part, the anguish Klaus and Amara bore. To possess such staggering power, overwhelming resources, and near-unlimited connections, yet remain helpless when it came to the one who mattered most, it was the cruelest irony imaginable. In such a situation, all accomplishments, all victories, all glories suddenly felt hollow, meaningless, inadequate.

Although Vega was already astoundingly gifted without an awakened bloodline, what parent did not yearn to give their child more? To give them the very best? Klaus and Amara were no different.

’Vega’s birthday was now only days away, meaning her awakening was imminent.’ The thought tightened Anthony’s chest.

’Does Vega even know any of this?’ Anthony asked himself, troubled.

Yet deep down, he doubted it. Parents rarely burdened their children with such heavy truths. Most likely, on her birthday, Vega would be told that she was awakening into something greater, without ever knowing of the decades of searching, the failures, the desperation, the sacrifices her parents had endured behind the scenes.

Anthony shook his head and forced his thoughts away. With Vega’s birthday so near, he could no longer waste time in contemplation. He needed to search through his system immediately, to see if he could offer Klaus and Amara a solution to the twenty year old problem that had haunted their hearts.

But as he scrolled through the system shop, Anthony felt his heart drop. The prices displayed before his eyes were nothing short of insane, figures so absurd they seemed almost mocking.

’System, isn’t this a bit too outrageous?’ Anthony asked mentally, his tone edged with frustration.

[Ding]

[Host, you are seeking an item that guarantees at least the awakening of a Perfect or Primordial Human Bloodline. At this current stage, you cannot afford such a thing. You must understand that you underestimate how overpowered the higher-ranked bloodlines are. You fail to recognize their weight simply because you yourself are already overpowered, with or without them]

The system’s mechanical voice echoed in his mind, cold, factual, and detached.

Anthony frowned deeply. According to the system, he could afford something within the Low to High Human bloodline ranks, but anything above the Supreme rank remained far beyond his reach.

His heart twisted with disappointment. ’So even I cannot help her?’ he thought bitterly.

’Am I truly about to fail Vega, right at the most important moment of her life?’

’Hey, Romulus... a bit of help here,’ Anthony called out mentally to the ancient presence sitting within his soul. ’You’ve always cared for Vega, haven’t you? Surely you’d be willing to lend a hand now, when it matters most.’

But Romulus did not reply. He remained silent, unmoving, as though Anthony’s words had never reached him.

’??? You’ve always desired a grandchild, have you not?’ Anthony’s thoughts shifted toward another being, his tone half-pleading. ’Why don’t you bless the mother of your grandchild instead?’ His eyes lifted toward the heavens, gazing at the invisible, invincible presence he hoped might answer.

Yet just as Romulus had been silent, so too was ??? unresponsive.

Anthony did not even bother reaching out to the Unbound. He already knew that one could not be roused from slumber through summons or desperation. The man only awoke when he willed it himself, and not a moment before.

Anthony’s chest tightened as the realization weighed on him. ’I knew I couldn’t always get my way in life, but isn’t everyone abandoning me at this crucial moment just a little too much?’

He tilted his head back, staring into the sky, his thoughts unraveling in a haze of frustration and helplessness. His memory was flawless; he could recall every reward he had ever received from the system’s daily sign-ins. He knew with certainty that none of them could aid him now. Even if he had once possessed such a treasure, he would have long since used it upon himself, before he even met Vega.

Closing his eyes, Anthony allowed himself to sink into the abyss of his own thoughts. For the first time in a long while, he felt powerless. And that sense of powerlessness cut deeper than any blade, for it meant that when Vega, his woman, his companion, needed him most, he might have no choice but to watch her face the trial without his help.

It was not a failure against an enemy, nor a defeat in battle, but something far more painful: the thought of failing the one he loved.