Hidden Treasure

The merchant could tell Robb was interested in the gladiator tournament, and his smile grew even more ingratiating. His plump hands began rubbing together instinctively.

"Since you're planning to enter the tournament, Master Robb, then choosing a top-tier combat slave is absolutely essential."

He hinted, "We have a batch of elite embryos in the back, reserved exclusively for VIP customers like yourself. Why don't I show you?"

Robb gave a slight nod, calmly following behind the merchant, though inwardly he grew more cautious of this slick-talking dealer.

From both the merchant's earlier descriptions and his own observations, Robb had realized a crucial issue:

These so-called "high-end combat slaves" were essentially rushed products, abominations forcibly crafted through crude bloodline fusion and aggressive mind control.

They might be able to unleash explosive power in the short term, but they all shared fatal flaws:

Unstable minds, short lifespans, and the constant risk of total loss of control.

"A truly high-quality combat slave should be more like Talisa's leopard girl," Robb thought.

Although Luna came from a wiped-out native tribe, her conditioning process had clearly been much more careful and refined.

Her enhancements were based on an already superior bloodline and applied gradually. She was raised from childhood to adapt physically and mentally.

Such a method produced slaves with strong combat abilities, basic sanity, and much longer lifespans than any of these rushed abominations.

They passed through a dim hallway until the merchant led Robb to a secluded chamber deep within the exchange.

He pushed open a heavy metal door to reveal dozens of special incubation pods, each containing a biological embryo or juvenile creature suspended in fluid.

"This is our 'Seed Vault.' All our most precious inventory is nurtured right here."

The merchant beamed proudly. "These come from rare bloodlines sourced from all over. Some even came directly from expeditions near the Deep Abyss."

Robb glanced around and activated his Extraordinary Appraisal ability, carefully scanning each incubation pod.

"What about this one?" The merchant pointed at a pod containing a purplish-black embryo, his eyes glittering with greed.

"A hybrid of a Hellhound and an Abyssal Worm. When grown, it can command both black fire and burrow through earth and stone. A steal at just five hundred magic stone shards."

[Hybrid Embryo: Hellhound × Abyssal Worm]

Bloodline Fusion: 32%

Stability: Extremely Low

Estimated Lifespan: 3–5 years

Special Abilities: Black Fire, Earth-Swimming (Unstable)

Risk: High. 80% chance of mutation during growth.

Robb kept a straight face, but mentally dismissed it as another unstable, short-lived fusion.

"And this one?" The merchant eagerly guided him to another pod holding a glowing, liquid-like embryo.

"This is a rarity! A Phoenix-Mercury Elemental hybrid. Priceless! Partial regeneration, metal control, it's the perfect guardian and battle companion!"

[Hybrid Embryo: Phoenix (diluted) × Mercury Elemental]

Bloodline Fusion: 25%

Stability: Near Zero

Estimated Lifespan: Less than 2 years

Special Abilities: Limited Regeneration, Metal Manipulation (Highly Unstable)

Risk: Catastrophic. Chaotic core structure, prone to self-destruction.

After seeing the appraisal results, Robb had a deeper understanding of just how outrageous this merchant really was.

This wasn't a treasure, it was a ticking time bomb.

Forcibly merging completely opposing elements had left the creature with almost no stability. It could implode at any time.

How did this guy even dare sell these? Did he have some kind of powerful backer?

"We also have some premium specimens more suited to high-level conditioning."

The merchant, unaware of Robb's thoughts, kept babbling:

"Here's a Star Sprite–Specter hybrid, a Deep Sea Fishman crossed with a Wind Elemental... and this one, our most prized treasure: a Time Basilisk merged with a Beholder!"

Robb scanned them one by one. The results were nearly identical, low fusion rates, poor stability, major flaws, yet with sky-high price tags.

The merchant was clearly pushing the most expensive and rare-sounding, but completely unsuitable, embryos, clearly aiming to fleece him.

"Do you have any... more basic embryos?" Robb asked calmly. "I'm just getting into bloodline modulation. I want to start simple."

The merchant's smile froze for a moment, then returned with forced politeness:

"Of course! Though those are just common stock, not worthy of someone like you. A genius such as yourself should start with high-tier material, go big from the start..."

"I'd like to see the basic ones first." Robb's tone remained mild, but his gaze was firm.

With no choice, the merchant led Robb to another room. The incubation pods here were clearly lower-grade, and the creatures inside far more ordinary.

"These are just generic species, cheap, but nothing special," the merchant muttered, less enthusiastic now. "Someone of your status probably wouldn't be interested."

Robb ignored him and began inspecting the pods carefully.

He noticed several pods in a corner that seemed intentionally overlooked. One contained a small, blue creature, clearly a juvenile, not an embryo.

Approaching it, Robb saw a baby sea siren, no more than 20 centimeters long. Its upper body resembled a human girl, with pale blue skin and a slender fish tail covered in silvery-blue scales.

She looked extremely frail, curled up in the incubation fluid, face twisted in pain, clearly unhealthy.

"What's the story with this one?" Robb asked, pointing at the little siren.

The merchant gave it a disdainful glance.

"That's just a common sea siren juvenile, completely worthless. Born weak, eats too much, doesn't grow. It probably won't live much longer. Definitely not worth your time."

Robb activated appraisal and scanned her closely:

[Juvenile Sea Siren]

Bloodline Purity: 95% (Rare High Purity)

Condition: Severe Malnutrition

Special Trait: Glutton (Tier-2 Trait – The more nutrients consumed, the faster the growth and higher the potential. Without adequate intake, development is stunted.)

Potential: With sufficient nourishment, capable of reaching higher potential; highly modifiable, possible to evolve into higher bloodlines

Robb's heart skipped.

This fragile-looking creature actually possessed a rare, high-purity bloodline.

And with the rare "Glutton" trait, she could reach astonishing potential, if properly fed.

Her current sickly state was a result of her gift backfiring due to starvation. Her potential was being suppressed, not lacking.

The merchant had clearly tossed her aside, thinking she was a failure that ate too much and showed no growth.

This was a jackpot find!

"How much for this little one?" Robb asked casually, hiding his excitement.

The merchant blinked, clearly surprised Robb was even interested in the "reject."

"Her? Fifty, no, forty shards. Honestly, if we hadn't signed a contract with her original sea-region supplier banning abandonment of embryos or juveniles, we'd have thrown her out already."

Robb heard the disdain in his tone and pretended to hesitate: "Thirty shards? She's in poor shape, after all."

The merchant hesitated, then waved it off: "Deal. Keeping her's just wasting nutrients anyway."

Clearly, to him, the siren was worthless.

Nearby, Robb spotted several smaller pods containing translucent gelatinous spheres of various colors, identical in size and structure.

"What are those?" he asked, pointing.

"Ah, those are base-tier Devouring Slimes, just test subjects, really. I've heard the Crystal Spire has better ones, but these are leftover stock the boss dumped on me. If you want, I'll sell them cheap."

The merchant waved dismissively, clearly not seeing any value in them.

"They don't have any bloodline traits. They can absorb other organisms and mimic some features, but only briefly. Beginners use them for basic practice."

Robb checked the appraisal:

[Devouring Slime – Basic Variant]

Trait: Absorbs organic material to temporarily acquire some characteristics. Color changes indicate trait compatibility and fusion stability.

Use: Ideal for bloodline modulation testing; provides visible feedback on mod quality.

Origin: Created by ancient alchemist Lanze; pivotal in founding bloodline modulation as a scientific field. Earned Lanze endless prestige and the title of Arch-Mage.

"I'll take one pod and give it a try," Robb decided.

These creatures were perfect for beginners, safe, efficient test beds that visibly showed modulation results.

"One for ten shards," the merchant offered, rubbing his hands, still hoping to make a bit of profit.

"I'll take nine. Seventy shards. If not, I'm walking."

Robb used the oldest haggling trick in the book and made as if to leave.

The merchant grimaced but finally caved.

"Alright, alright! Deal, Master Robb."

To him, selling off that low-tier junk was a win.

By the time he finished, Robb had spent only 100 magic stone shards and walked away with a high-potential sea siren and nine devouring slimes for bloodline modulation practice.

Compared to the merchant's earlier pitches of "elite stock" costing hundreds or thousands of shards, this was a true steal.

Of course, from the merchant's point of view, Robb was just a clueless penny-pincher buying worthless junk.

As Robb left the exchange, the merchant still wore a polite smile, though his thoughts were less kind.

"Young apprentices don't know quality when they see it. Ignoring true treasures for worthless junk. He'll be back when he gets bored and wants a real combat slave."

Robb, carrying a special container with the sea siren and slimes, wore a subtle, knowing smile.

He couldn't wait to get back to his workshop and start experimenting.

This haul might prove far more valuable than he expected.

...

Back at the workshop, Robb immediately brought his "experimental materials" into the most secluded lab.

"Master, shall I prepare anything?" Valenwood asked softly at the door, her vines gently swaying.

"Prepare as much high-nutrition concentrate as possible."

Robb gave quiet instructions. "Also, if any visitors come, try to keep this lab hidden."

Valenwood nodded, her leaves forming a graceful script mid-air: "Understood, Master. I will deploy a masking formation."

Once the sea siren was settled, Robb began examining the nine devouring slimes.

Each sat in a special glass container, semi-transparent and gelatinous, like nine giant droplets suspended in nutrient fluid.

"Devouring slimes..." Robb muttered, eyes focused on the peculiar creatures.

"A brilliant invention by ancient alchemists, created specifically for bloodline testing."

He flipped open Introduction to Bloodline Modulation, borrowed from the school's library, and carefully reviewed the slime section:

Devouring slimes are foundational tools in bloodline modulation. They absorb biological material, temporarily gaining some traits and visually reflecting the stability and compatibility through color changes.

Color indicators:

Blue: Cold attribute

Red: Heat attribute

Green: Life attribute

Purple: Space or Time

Black: Rejection/Corruption

White: High Stability

Gold: Perfect Fusion

This invention transformed bloodline modulation from blind trial-and-error into a controlled science. For this, Alchemist Lanze earned endless accolades and ultimately ascended to Arch-Mage.