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"What is this made of?"
"That is an ointment made from frost-fern and dragon-apples, young master. It is used to treat burns from fire magic when healing spells are ineffective."
"And this?"
"That is…"
I half-listened to the healer's monotonous voice as I picked up various medicines from the shelves, examining the faint traces of qi within them.
The man seemed to have resigned himself to my sudden curiosity with a weary indifference.
While I was no grandmaster of alchemy, I was certainly proficient. I'd had to be. Most alchemists were… reluctant to deal with demonic cultivators.
Reputation, and all that. When my clan's resources dwindled, I learned to brew my own concoctions.
Any true master of alchemy can assess the value of ingredients with a single glance, or in my current state, a single touch.
A first-level Qi Gathering student is, after all, still just a student. Basically, trash.
"Young master, it will be lunchtime soon."
"Very well. I will return tomorrow."
"As you wish," the healer said, with a look that clearly meant, the nobility have their quirks.
He was the one the head healer had pawned me off on, and the same one who patched me up after my increasingly "serious" training sessions with the Guard Captain.
Before I could go hunting monsters, I needed to master my demonic aura and my unique bloodline trait, which I was discovering was capable of far more than just draining life force.
It was these bloodline traits, or "hereditary powers," that made me compare these demons to beastmen.
With the Four Great Satans gone, this society relied almost entirely on the power they were born with.
The Leviathans' control over the oceans, the Beelzebubs' command of flies, the Baels' Power of Destruction, these traits were so potent that their users focused solely on developing them, ignoring all other paths to power. It was a stagnation that could spell doom for a race still recovering from a devastating war.
The exact nature of these powers was still a mystery to me. Without more research and a higher cultivation level, I couldn't fully understand the changes my soul had undergone, or the peculiarities of these "wrong" demons.
I had, however, managed to study my own bloodline trait quite thoroughly. Unlike the Lucifuge trait, which made their aura dense and attuned to spatial manipulation, mine granted a single, incredibly versatile ability.
I called it "Theft." No, that was too simple. "Heavenly Inevitable Conquest"? Or perhaps, "Greed of the Demonic Dragon Emperor"? I would have to think on it.
Essentially, with enough power, I could touch an object with my aura and simply… take it. Life force, a ball of energy, a sword, it didn't matter.
I could move it within my aura or store it in a pocket dimension created by the aura, much like the spatial rings I used to use.
I could even "capture" natural qi. But I couldn't use it. My aura was like a servant bringing me a feast, but with a broken jaw and no teeth, I could only choke on it.
To fix this, I needed vast amounts of qi from my "Life Burning" technique to finish rebuilding my spiritual root and meridian network.
I arrived at the small dining hall to find my mother and Euclis already there, chatting. Sin. I should have arrived before her to show proper respect.
"Inflis, I was just about to send a servant to find you," my mother said.
"My apologies, sister, for making you worry and wait."
She sighed, her beautiful crimson eyes full of exasperation. "Must you always be so formal with me?"
"Sister, he is showing you proper respect," my brother piped up. "And that is correct."
…for a freak like him, his glare at me finished the sentence.
My mother's gaze turned sharp on him. "If that is the case, then shouldn't you show me the same respect? Or does this mean Inflis is behaving correctly, and you are not?"
Euclis opened and closed his mouth, his underdeveloped brain struggling to form a coherent response. Predictably, it was a stupid one.
"But he's different! It's because of him that Mother…"
"Euclis!"
My mother shot a worried glance at me, but I just smiled openly. I needed to let her know that the empty words of fools were nothing but wind to my ears.
"Only your words can touch my heart, my sister," I said.
Her lovely face flushed slightly. She pouted and mumbled, "Must you always say such ambiguous things?"
I tilted my head in confusion. Should I have been clearer, and stated that only her opinion mattered to me?
A silver magic circle flared to life in the corner of the room, and Rofocale Lucifuge appeared.
Dressed in his white suit, he strode to his seat at the head of the table. His eternally cold gaze swept over us as a servant quickly filled his goblet with wine.
I surveyed the dishes spread across the table and began to serve myself things I hadn't yet tried since awakening.
The food in this Underworld was vastly different from what I was used to. Even the utensils were strange. It was a minor inconvenience, but the new cuisine was interesting, at least from the perspective of poisoning.
I was currently far too weak to face Sirzechs Gremory in a direct confrontation. That left the assassin's favorite weapon: poison.
The alternative, finding another powerful being and manipulating them into fighting him, was far more complicated.
"Euclis, how are your magic lessons progressing?" our father's voice cut through the silence. There was a rare warmth in his tone, a hint of pride for his heir.
"The tutor and I are currently studying teleportation via magic circles," my brother replied, puffing out his chest. "He says I am ahead of schedule."
"Good. Continue to apply yourself diligently, so you do not bring shame upon our House."
"Yes, Father."
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Hey guys if u like the fanfic and want to read ahead by 5+ Chapters or just want to support take a visit on my patreon.
(P).(A).(T).(R).(E).(O).(N)
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