Born in Blood



Liam activated his academic token, and it flickered to life. Reye's voice came through from the other side. 

"Yes?"

"It's finished."

"Already?" Reye sounded surprised, his voice raising a pitch.

"I just said it was," Liam said impatiently.

"Alright," Reye said, trying to hide his amazement. "An associate of mine will be there shortly to verify your completion."

Liam spent the time waiting in gathering space-rings and looting the bodies. 

He entered the treasury to make sure everything was there, which it was. 

It was filled with large piles of gold and jewels, glinting under the moonlight, along with some other low level techniques and spells.

Soon enough, a lanky man wearing a black suit arrived at the scene. 

His small eyes could only grow in shock as he saw so many dead bodies laying around. 

The smell of blood was so thick he could taste it, but the young boy in front of him looked expressionless. 

Liam greeted the man nonchalantly. 

"Here are the rings," Liam promptly gave the man more than a dozen rings… with the severed fingers attached to them. "The treasury is that way." 

Liam pointed to the small building with three dead guards littered around it.

Although the suited man was disgusted at the pile of fingers in his hands, he gulped down his fear and nodded.

"Great."

"I'll be leaving then. Is it back the same way?" Liam asked, and the man quickly nodded. 

"Oh, and you might wanna be careful when you clean some of them," Liam added as an afterthought. "They died pissing."

With that, Liam made his way back.

///

Liam gained roughly 1,300 merit points from his mission. 

He used those points to buy darkness magical beasts for his forging and blades for his inscriptions, along with some nourishing pills that helped bolster his progress with his core and mental sphere.

Spells as of that moment weren't of any concern to him, since he'd get plenty from the expedition. 

His main goal was improving his inscription and forging capabilities, since, compared to others, his cultivation journey was going to be significantly harder. 

Being of the darkness element, there were too little spells of a similar nature. Not to mention, he was a dual-elementalist, the extent of his second element he didn't even know about.

Liam moved to studying the vampiric nails spell made by Revel. With his eye, he could vaguely make out the complex meanings stored into the technique. 

There were countless other failed inscriptions that Revel had made, but they were still useful to study and memorize.

At the same time, he had a massive idea with his forging. At one point, he simply thought, 'Why don't I add meanings into the beast will itself? I use mental energy on it anyway.'

He approached Jordan with his questions and the man confirmed it, though skeptical.

"You definitely can, even I do, only it'll take you years of understanding how the two energies interact with one another. You could get much, much more creative with your inventions though."

He saved that idea for another time, along with a proper utilization of the King's Eye.

In the meantime, he also gained more details of his expedition. 

He had permission to delay his final tests until he came back from his journey, and he could begin as soon as he assembled a team. 

It would last roughly two to three months, and depending on how well or bad it went, that time period could change.

Liam had a few names in mind for his mission. 

'Nord is strong, but he's an idiot. Still, it's better than bringing any noble. Rin too, but her deafness might be an inconvenience. Nessa should come. She doesn't seem like the scheming type, and she's smart enough. Sveinn is a liability. I'll find someone else in the meantime.'

During one of their battle classes, Liam brought the topic up using mental transmission – vaguely, he described the details and its dangerous nature.

[You in? You can push your luck with the Headmaster and fleece him for more rewards if you're not satisfied,] Liam concluded and advised.

Nord looked pensive, before a smile spread on his lips. 

[Of course I am.]

Liam approached Rin and Nessa next, and the two agreed instantly. Nessa looked excited to visit new lands and study different magical environments, and Rin seemed more interested in the reward it came with.

The fourth person Liam picked was a boy by the name of Gerald. He was a peasant just like the rest of the group (with the exception of Nessa), but a bit weaker and less driven compared to them.

It took a bit of convincing to bring him into the group, but the promised wealth had enticed him to agree.

With that, the expedition party was ready to set out.

Early in the morning, the Headmaster teleported everyone into his office.

Looking everyone over, he nodded, then explained to them in detail what their goal was. 

"Lawrence will lead you. Consider his words like orders, and don't fight amongst each other. We'll give you all special storage items and enough provisions for your trip."

Just then, a bright light sputtered across the room and took the form of a woman. 

"Good, you're all here," Kalia said with a firm nod. "I'll be leading you all towards the borders of Echoria. There, you'll be put on a small ship camouflaged with an invisibility formation. One of our workers will steer the ship and wait on the borders until you return."

Everyone exchanged a nod. 

As everyone continued their studies, the group headed towards the train and quickly entered.

A moment later, the train began churning, increasing in speed as it left the academy grounds.

Nord sat beside Liam as the group settled in their place.

[Yo, man. I actually wanted to ask you something,] the red-eyed boy looked left and right despite speaking mentally, worried someone might hear him.

Liam gave him a quick side glance as he peered outside the train window. 

[Have you ever seen a woman go to the bathroom? Do you think... they even do?]

Liam slowly creaked his head towards Nord's direction, giving him a disappointed and stunned look. 

Instantly, he regretted bringing him.