Emily could hardly believe what she saw.
Her own brother was choking her and lifting her off the ground.
As an experienced hunter with an S rank ability, she should have been able to resist. But the shock was too strong.
Her body did not react.
Her gaze was full of worry. She could tell that something was wrong with Alex.
"Did something go wrong when he tried to learn the cultivation method?
I already told him to test it on others first..." she thought.
She had offered to find test subjects, but Alex refused and said he would find them himself.
He did not refuse because he distrusted Emily. He only doubted the people who might volunteer through her.
In Alex's eyes, no matter how experienced she was, Emily was still his naive younger sister.
Her strength weakened. Emily felt her energy and life being pulled out of her body and absorbed by Alex.
Strands of her golden hair turned white.
She gathered all the strength she had left and slowly raised her hand.
She did not aim for his hand but for his cheek.
Tears fell from her sapphire blue eyes. Her lips trembled as she forced out broken words.
"W...h... Why...?"
When Emily's life force finally returned to the ten percent threshold, clarity started to return to Alex's mind.
At first, everything was blurry. He only felt something warm on his cheek.
Then Vesa's scream echoed in his mind.
"[KING!
Wake UP!!!]"
The shout snapped him back to reality.
He saw Emily's condition right in front of him. He quickly released her throat and pulled her into his arms.
Emily had already fainted. Just looking at her made his heart pound with fear.
Half of her hair was now white. Her face had visibly aged.
Her once rosy cheeks were pale and drained.
"What have I done," Alex mumbled in shock.
[King, she is still alive, see her status.]
***
[Name: Emily Campbell]
[Power Level: 7]
[Lifeforce: 10/150]
[Ability: Embodiment of Light lv. 2]
***
In another situation, Alex would have been surprised by Emily's power level.
It meant she was already stronger than Mingyue.
Her ability was not a surprise to him. He had been the one asking Vesa to update the information on people around him.
Vesa had warned him that the listed ability would not be fully accurate unless Alex absorbed some of their life force.
Still, Alex ordered her to include it anyway.
Any data would help him judge his situation better.
Seeing Emily's life flicker like a candle in the wind, Alex asked, "Vesa, tell me more about this life force.
Can I return it to her?"
[Yes, you can, King, but not now.]
[It is one of the Progenitor's Abilities you will unlock later on the path.]
[As for life force, it is quite complicated, but to put it simply, every numeric point can be counted as one year of lifespan in the case of humans.]
Alex's hands started to shake.
He understood that this meant his sister only had ten years of lifespan left.
It was not only about the number.
When she woke up, her body would be like someone who had lived 140 years and had only ten years left.
Her organs would weaken. Her immune system would drop.
She would start to develop diseases that usually appeared in the elderly.
[King, maybe you can try using the new cultivation technique on her since...]
Vesa cut off her own message. She could feel how angry Alex was.
"She is not a scapegoat.
To raise my Progenitor level, I need more of his blood.
Send me to one of those places now.
No, send me after I put her somewhere safe."
Alex carried Emily in a princess hold and walked toward the facility.
Vesa stayed silent at his demand.
None of the places that stored a Progenitor were weak.
Each location required at least a power level of 20 to approach safely.
Going there now was the same as going to die.
"Answer me, Vesa.
If you do not tell me now, I will find a way myself," Alex said coldly as he walked.
[It is not that I do not want to, King, but I will be blunt, you are too weak right now.]
[If it were possible, I would have already sent both of you to another world so you could become a Progenitor quickly and start rebuilding our race.]
[There is also another reason. Right now, my energy is very limited.]
[The remaining energy I have is only enough to send both of you one time.]
"Both?
Can't you just send me?" Alex asked.
[No!]
[This limitation was put on me by the last Progenitor.]
[Both must be sent.]
[King, I understand your worry and fear, but sending you now really is suicide.]
[If I had more energy, I could at least make sure that I bring both of you back here in case something happens.]
"So you are saying it is a problem now because you only have enough strength for one trip.
What do you need to recover your strength, Vesa?"
In Edonia, Vesa's chubby mouth opened and she let out a long sigh.
She felt helpless when dealing with Alex.
There were many things she hid on purpose so he and Mingyue would focus on growing stronger first.
But Vesa knew Alex would keep pushing until he got his answer.
[I need life force, and not just from any being.]
[I need it from a strong one, at least at the level of an Immortal from MingYue's world.]
[My plan before was to recover part of my power from the other Progenitor blood you gain, so I would have enough to keep sending both of you on quests.]
Alex thought for a moment.
Life force from beings as strong as Immortals.
From his talks with MingYue, he already had some idea of how strong they were.
His estimate was that they were similar to a Category Five dungeon boss.
[King, do not be careless.]
[If you die, who will help Emily?]
[And did you forget that MingYue will die with you?]
"Do not lie to me, Vesa.
I know I cannot die that easily.
Only those who can truly destroy my soul can kill me, and my soul is at Progenitor level now, even if it is not complete," Alex said.