First Experiment

'Where am I?' James stood at the center of an uninspiring courtyard, crisscrossing mosaic black-and-white tiles lined the ground. A shallow pond stood a few meters from where he stood, reflecting the darkened skies above. He could see some curious fishes staring at him. Algae and a luminous blue flower sunk into red bricks lining up the aged walls. Its worn thatched roof fluttered under the gentle night breeze.

James scanned the area. 'Not bad. I was expecting something worse.' His eyes soon lit up. 'That's my way out of here'. He found a door hidden at the eastern part of the courtyard. 'Let's see what else in this place.' James adjusted his robes before taking gentle steps towards the wooden door. His eyes lingered on the fishes in the pond. He couldn't determine their species no matter how much he racked his brain. That the insignificant creatures stared back at him, surprised him.

James's eyes narrowed. He paused as he met the gaze of one fish. Black, orange and blue patterns covered its body while a small crown adorned its head. Its eyes lingered on James, wandering what stood before it.

'Does it possess wisdom?' James mused. 'System, scan that fish.' He never expected he would ever give such a command.

Scanning…

Scanning Completed!

Name: King Koi (The Signing Koi).

Rank: Evolved.

Level: 2.

Target's songs can induce temporary illusions (Ineffective against the User).

Probability of User Eliminating the Target: 100%

'A singing fish?' James chuckled. The system's message and his expectations differed by a mile. However, the Level of the fish surprised him. He didn't expect such an insignificant creature to have reached Level 2.

"Master?"

'Huh? Who is that?' James panicked as he heard the aged voice, instinctively turned his head. A middle-aged man came into view. He walked with a limp, using a small wooden cane to support his trembling right leg. He wore a long-sleeved, animal skin jacket which covered him to just above his knees. The sleeves of his jacket were wide and reached down to just above his hands, decorated with a single thread lining at the sleeve ends. The jacket had a deep, rectangular neckline which revealed part of the rough shirt worn below it and coupled with a small leather belt, held together by a small belt buckle. His pants were simple and wide and reached down to his hide boots. The boots were made from a rare hide, but are otherwise not any different from others.

"You are?" James stared warily at the man. That he couldn't detect when the man appeared alarmed him.

"My Lord, my name is Finley." He bowed solemnly. "My Lord, I'll be serving you from now on." Finley said.

Scanning Completed!

Name: Finley.

Race: Human.

Rank: None!

Status: Injured.

Probability of the User Eliminating the Target: 100%

'A normal human sneaked up on me? How?' James frowned. 'System, is there anything in this courtyard capable of concealing sound?'

Scanning...

Scanning Completed!

No!

However, the User's body is still adjusting from the effects of the previous barrier.

Estimated time Until Recovery: 1 minute.

'Oh. It's because of that bastard's rune.' James's expression relaxed. If a normal human could sneak up on him, then it was likely he wouldn't last long in the Village.

Turning his attention towards Finley, he placed his right on his shoulder, as he said, "You can raise your head."

"Thank you, Master." Finley raised his head, and for the time, he could see the face of his new master. 'So young? How did he survive?' Finley swallowed hard as he met James's gaze. Although the youth wore a faint smile, he could see a docile beast hiding behind those eyes.

Congratulations!

The User has placed Skill—Rot Inducement, on the Target.

The User has Activated a queued Skill!

"Are you okay, Finely?"

"Huh? Yes... Yes, My Lord. Forgive your servant for losing his head." Finley bowed. He didn't know why, but he lost himself staring into James's eyes. He felt like a moth being drawn to the allure of the flame.

"Bring me to my chambers. I will meet the others when I'm ready." James said. He urged the feeble man to raise his head.

"Yes, my Lord." Finley nodded. It was customary for the servants to greet their new master upon their arrival. Finley gathered all the servants to welcome James at the entrance of his manor. However, he didn't expect James to appear in the courtyard instead. The only reason he stepped into the courtyard was because it was time to feed the fishes. A task beneath his position, but one he enjoyed doing no less.

Twenty minutes later, James and Finley stood before a wooden door which had the depiction of birds and beasts carved on its surface.

"My Lord, I will relay your words to the others." Finley bowed. A moment later, he left through a well-illuminated hallway.

James opened the beautiful door, and an even more beautiful room came into view. An enormous bed made of oak stood at the center of the room, with several small pillows neatly arranged on its surface. Gold and silver paint covered the walls and pillars in the room, forming a distinct whole of luxury and tranquility. The polished marbles on the floor glistened under the illumination of dazzling crystals, while a small golden gourd at the corners of the room emitted a cool breeze with a fruity aroma.

'No wonder Henriksen said we should do our best during the rights ceremony.'

Since he left the courtyard, the manor's beauty stunned him. He expected something from a medieval period, not an abode meant for royalty. Although the manor paled compared to castle Dumin, it exceed the beauty of his manor in the central region of the Tiodon Kingdom. Its size wasn't anything to scoff at either. It comprised a garden which had its own pavilion, two stables and a workshop.

James's gaze shifted towards the empty bookshelves at the end of the room. 'This is where we can keep the tomes or scriptures we borrow. But it's useless for me...' With the Necromancer System, he didn't have to bother with studying one scripture or tome over and over. James then turned his head to the side. There he could see a three chairs around a long desk which had a small illumination crystal on its surface. A few meters a way from the furniture, he could see another door. James needed no one to tell him it lead to the washroom.

'It's time to start.' James's visage turned serious. A familiar black smog slowly covered the room, devouring the light like the abyss itself.

'System, activate shadow barrier.' Instantly, James's shadow barrier covered the room. Fueled by the smog, it plundered everything within the room into darkness.

'This should be okay.' James nodded approvingly. He doubted if nocturnal beasts could see through his barrier.

'System, open the Bloodline Vault!' The mist before James's eyes churned. He felt subtle vibrations around him, yet the furniture remained motionless. 'It's affecting the spirit world...' James deduced.

The vibrations intensified, a wheezing echo filled the churning mist. James could see his soul separating from his body. The physical and spirit world merging and separating in tandem. Silence followed. A blinding light assaulted James's eyes. The darkness had long disappeared, with nothingness replacing it. 'What's happening?' James mused. All he saw was a world of white. 'Is this the Bloodline Vault?' James shook his head, 'this can't be it. There has to be more, right?'

Just then, a crack echoed. Vague shadows slowly filled the nothingness. James subconsciously retreated, 'System, what's going on?' Silence followed.

He found himself amidst thousands of shelves with each at least ten feet taller than him. Rows of empty beakers lined the partitioned shelves. James could neither see the walls of the room nor the ceiling. However, marble titles coated the floors.

'Beakers?' James stretched his hand towards one beaker.

[Do you wish to deposit blood?]

James's eyes lit up, "Yes," he said.

[Please choose from the following.. ]

-??? (The user's Rank is too low to access this information)

- Blood Essence of unevolved beasts.

- Blood Essence of a demon.

"Blood Essence of unevolved beasts," James said.

[How many drops does the User requires?]

James hesitated. 'I shouldn't use too much. Let me get familiar with Blay De Tover's techniques first.' Although he knew everything relating to Blood Magic. He was still a novice in the practical sense. With his decision made, James said, "Ten drops."

The beaker vibrated. Before James could comprehend what was happening, the smell of fresh blood assaulted his nose. Ten drops as specified appeared within the beaker.

The room morphed for a second time, this time a large table appeared. Many glass wares covered the length of the table with a flame burning under a tripod stand at the center.

'Hahaha... this is fantastic. With this I can conduct my experiments.' A savage smile snaked across James's lips. He had waited a long time and had suffered immensely to reach his current Level. With the Bloodline Vault, he believed it was only a matter of time before he became an existence superior to The Collector. Then he would start his conquest of Skyhaven.