Lysander watched the two women testing their new bodies—Seraphina marveling at the violet electricity dancing on her fingertips, and Elara testing the sharpness of her new diamond-hard claws.
He glanced at his inventory. He still had 28 bottles of the Origin Bloodline Elixir left in the crate.
He looked over at the other villagers—Miko, mothers, the healed children, and the women watching in awe.
'I could give it to all of them,' Lysander thought coldly. 'I could turn this entire village into a fortress of S-Rank monsters'
He narrowed his eyes behind the mask.
'But power without loyalty is dangerous. If I give this power to someone who betrays me later, I will have created a monster I have to kill'
He made a decision.
"System, keep the crate locked. I will not distribute any more Elixirs until I verify the Loyalty Status of every single Demi-Human"
He would wait. Only those who were willing to die for him would be allowed to be reborn by him.
Lysander turned his attention back to Seraphina. She was floating slightly off the ground, the gravity around her bending to her will.
"System," Lysander commanded internally. "Explain her new Bloodline. What exactly is a 'Void Empress'?"
Ding!
[Name: Seraphina valerius]
[Bloodline: high-human void empress]
[An ancient, extinct lineage of humanity that existed before the Age of Monsters. They were born with a direct connection to the Void Dimension]
[Space manipulation she can bend space to create shields, teleport short distances, or crush enemies by increasing gravity]
[Mana dominance she does not need to chant spells. The mana obeys her commands instantly]
[The void gaze she can look into the minds of weaker beings and crush their psyche]
Lysander nodded, impressed
"So, she isn't just a Mage anymore. She is a walking natural disaster"
Lysander shifted his gaze to Elara. She was moving differently now—her footsteps made absolutely no sound, and when she stood still, she seemed to blend into the background, making it hard to focus on her.
"And her?" Lysander asked. "What is a 'Solar Shadow-Stalker'?"
Ding!
[Name: Elara]
[Bloodline: Mythical beast (solar shadow-stalker)]
[Descendant of the Golden Sun-Lion, a beast that hunted gods in the ancient era]
[Daylight stealth unlike normal assassins who hide in the dark, she can turn invisible even in bright sunlight]
[Absolute speed her muscle fibers are now denser than steel. She can move faster than the human eye can track]
[Lethality her claws can cut through magical barriers. She is the ultimate predator]
"In simple terms, Master: She is the perfect Assassin. While Seraphina destroys armies from a distance, Elara eliminates high-value targets before they even know they are being hunted"
Lysander looked at Elara, who was now grinning with a fierce, predatory confidence.
"A Mage who controls gravity and an Assassin who can kill in broad daylight,"
Lysander muttered, a dark satisfaction in his voice.
He stepped forward, his cape flowing behind him.
"Good. You are no longer weak. Now, let's see if you can control that power"
Lysander watched the two women marvel at their own bodies. They knew they were stronger, but they didn't understand the scale of what had just happened. To them, they just felt "better." They didn't realize they had just jumped from being mortals to being monsters.
"System," Lysander asked internally. "How can I demonstrate their new Potential to them? Is there a way to visualize it so they understand?"
Ding!
[In this world, the standard method for measuring talent is the 'Seer's Orb'. It is commonly found in the Royal Academy, High-Nobility Households, and Adventurer Guilds. People usually pay heavy fees to test their children]
[The Orb glows when touched. The intensity and color of the light determine the Potential Rank]
Lysander nodded. He remembered
Seraphina mentioning that during her Academy entrance exam, she had touched a similar orb, and it had barely flickered grey—marking her as F-Rank trash.
"Do you have one in the Shop?"
Ding!
[Item: Portable Potential Measurement Orb]
[Grade: Common](Utility Item)
[Price: 100 SP]
[Description: A flawless crystal sphere that analyzes the Mana Capacity and Bloodline Potential of anyone who touches it]
Lysander scoffed.
"100 SP? That's pocket change"
He didn't hesitate.
"Purchase"
Ching!
[-100 SP]
[ITEM PURCHASED: POTENTIAL MEASUREMENT ORB]
Flash.
A heavy, transparent crystal sphere, about the size of a grapefruit, materialized in Lysander's palm. It was cold to the touch and perfectly smooth.
He held the sphere out toward them, the morning sun refracting through the glass.
"You think you are just 'stronger'," Lysander said, his voice low and commanding. "But you have no idea what you have become"
He looked at Seraphina, who flinched when she saw the orb. It reminded her of the worst day of her life—the day the Academy laughed at her.
"Seraphina," Lysander called out. "Place your hand on this. Let the world show you your new value"
Lysander held the crystal orb, its surface smooth and reflective. Before he allowed them to touch it, he needed to understand the scale.
"System," Lysander asked internally. "Refresh my memory. What are the standard colors for Potential in this world?"
Ding!
[Rank F: Dull Grey]
[Rank E: Pale White]
[Rank D: Green]
[Rank C: Blue]
[Rank B: Red]
[Rank A: Golden]
[Rank S: Dark Violet]
Lysander's eyes narrowed behind his mask.
"And what about me? My status says I have SSS Potential. What color is that?"
[There is no color for SS or SSS. If you touch this orb, it will shatter]
[Individuals with SS-Rank potential are statistical anomalies. In recorded history, if a child is born with SS potential, they are usually assassinated before they turn ten. Rival Kingdoms see them as 'Future Threats' that cannot be allowed to grow]
Lysander felt a chill. The world was terrified of power it couldn't control.
Lysander looked at Seraphina and Elara.
They were currently "weak" in terms of Level, but their Potential was now Rank S.
"System, explain the status of S-Rank individuals in this continent"
Ding!
[Master S-Rank individuals are not adventurers]
They are classified as 'State Weapons'.
Every major Kingdom possesses one or two S-Rank entities, but they are kept as Top Secrets"
[They are the 'Last Resort.' A Kingdom only deploys an S-Rank when the capital is burning or total annihilation is imminent.
They exist to ensure Mutually Assured Destruction. If Kingdom A attacks Kingdom B, Kingdom B's S-Rank will wipe out Kingdom A's entire army]
[Because of this, Kingdoms rarely fight full-scale wars. They fear the S-Rank retaliation]
Lysander lowered the orb slightly, a heavy realization settling in his mind.
'I am walking around with two tactical nukes,' he thought, looking at the girls.
'But right now, these nukes are deactivated. They have the Potential (S-Rank), but their current strength is still low. If the Kingdom finds out that a rejected Noble Girl and a Cat-Kin have S-Rank potential...'
He clenched his jaw.
'The Royal Family won't let them go. They will try to kidnap them to use as weapons. Or worse, the neighboring Empire will send assassins to kill them before they reach their peak'
He looked at Seraphina, who was trembling, terrified that the orb would show Grey again.
He looked at Elara, who was eager to prove herself.
"Listen to me very carefully," Lysander said, his voice dropping to a whisper that only the two of them could hear.
"Whatever color appears in this orb... you tell no one. Not the villagers. This stays between us"
He held the orb out to Seraphina.
"Touch it. And prepare to see the truth"
Seraphina stepped forward, her hand trembling slightly.
She didn't want to touch it. The last time she had touched an Assessment Orb, her life had ended before it began. She remembered the cold stone of the Valerius estate. She remembered her father's hopeful face turning into a sneer of disgust when the orb turned Dull Grey.
'Rank F. Trash. Defective.'
Those words had been branded onto her soul.
"Do it," Lysander commanded softly.
Seraphina took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and pressed her palm against the cold crystal surface.
HUMMM.
The air in the clearing instantly grew heavy. A low, vibrating sound resonated from the orb, shaking the ground beneath their feet.
Then, the light exploded.
It wasn't Grey. It wasn't the Green of a soldier or even the Red of a General.
A deep, hypnotic Dark Violet light flooded the clearing, swirling with black specks like a miniature galaxy. It was so intense that the nearby grass bent away from the pressure.
The Demihuman women and children watching gasped, shielding their eyes.
"What color is that?" one woman whispered.
"Is it blue? Is it black?"
"I've never seen that color before..."
They were outcasts. They were commoners and slaves. They knew Grey, White, and maybe Green. They had never seen the color of a Calamity. To them, it was just a strange, scary magic.
But Seraphina knew.